NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The Elmhurst University men's basketball team surged ahead of the North Central College Cardinals, 77-73, in an overtime thriller Saturday evening inside Merner Fieldhouse.

The Bluejays improved to 8-10 overall (4-5 CCIW) with the victory, while the Cardinals fell to 10-8 (3-6 CCIW) with the loss.

EU came back from an eight-point deficit in the second half, scoring the game-tying and winning shots in both regulation and overtime from freshman Vinnie Adjahoungbeta, playing heroics and allowing the Jays to steal a road victory at their rivals. The Jays swept the season series with NCC for the second-straight season, and have now won six-straight over the Cardinals.

Elmhurst had a strong day on the boards, grabbing 43 total, with 16 coming on the offensive end that lead to 22 second chance points.

The aforementioned Adjahoungbeta provided the Jays with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for his first collegiate double-double. Dominic Trelenberg led all scorers with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Aidyn Boone added 12 points. Sebastian Blachut continued his streak, scoring 19 points and hitting the double-digit scoring mark for the 10th-straight game. 

The first half marked a tight back-and-forth affair, with neither team leading by more than five points in the opening stanza. The Cardinals held a 23-18 lead with ten minutes to go, but a pair of baskets from Blachut and a layup from Trelenberg gave EU a one-point advantage with seven to go.

Each team would trade the lead multiple times in the waning minutes, with the Cardinals holding a 30-29 advantage halfway through the rivalry matchup.

NCC started the second half strong, opening the half on a four minute, 13-5 run to take their largest lead of the evening, 43-35, with 15:45 left in the game. A Boone trey at 11:27 would squeeze the deficit to just one, and thunderous dunk from Jaiden Malichi would give the Jays a 46-45 lead with 10:54 to go.

The Cardinals would again surge ahead by six from a scoring run, but again Elmhurst answered, using a trey from Tagen Pearson and a tip-in from Trelenberg to again lead, 55-54. After trading baskets and knotting the score multiple times, a pair of Blachut free throws would knot the game at 59. After free throws from the Cardinals gave them the lead yet again, Adjahoungbeta nailed a layup with 2:05 left to tie the game at 61. From there, both teams would miss their share of go-ahead shots, sending the game to overtime after a missed trey by the Cardinals as time expired.

Both teams traded baskets and the lead to begin overtime, but after a Helwig jumper, Blachut nailed a long three-pointer to put EU ahead, 66-65. The Cardinals would hit a shot of their own to regain the lead, but a pair of points from the charity stripe from Trelenberg and a Pearson trey surged Elmhurst ahead by four, 71-67, with 1:55 remaining. 

NCC would come back to knot the game at 71 from free throws and a layup, leaving 1:03 left in the first overtime period. Trelenberg would find the basket with a layup, but the Cardinals would again respond with free throws, leaving the score at 73-73 with 13 seconds remaining and the ball in possesion by the Jays. There, Adjahoungbeta scored a layup with two seconds left to put Elmhurst ahead, and two free throws from Trelenberg would seal the Jays' 77-73 overtime victory.

UP NEXT 

Elmhurst remians on the road next Wednesday, Jan. 29, taking on Wheaton College at 7:00 pm.

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