WHEATON, Ill. - The No. 15 Elmhurst University men's basketball team suffered their second-straight loss to Wheaton College, 69-74, Saturday evening on the road.

Elmhurst (13-3, 5-2 CCIW) struggled shooting from the field in the second-half, scoring just nine field goals for a .218 shooting percentage, which the host Thunder (4-12, 3-4 CCIW) took advantage of hitting seven treys and shooting .560 from the field to take home the victory.

Ocean Johnson led the Bluejays with a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds, while John Ittounas tallied 15 points with three treys. Quin Pemberton tallied 12 points, four assists, and four rebounds in the game, while Jonathan Zapinski contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.

All five Wheaton starters scored in double-digits, with Kyle Niebech leading the Thunder with 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting from behind the arc. 

Elmhurst controlled the game for most of the first-half and used that momentum to continue to pad their lead to begin the second half, with the Bluejays leading 43-30 with 17 minutes to go. From there, Wheaton used a 20-4 scoring run to take a narrow lead which the two teams would trade away multiple times in the ensuing minutes. A jumper from Zapinski fell to give Elmhurst a one-point lead with ten to go, but the Thunder would take the lead and never give it up, keeping the Bluejays at bay to walk away with a five-point victory on their home court.

UP NEXT

Elmhurst will look to end their skid with a pair of home games next week, beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 17 with a matchup against Augustana at 7:00 p.m. CT inside R.A. Faganel Hall.

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