KENOSHA, Wis. - The Elmhurst University men's basketball team dropped an 83-71 decision to Carthage College on the road Wednesday (Feb. 19) evening.

The Bluejays dropped to 11-13 overall and 7-8 in the CCIW with the loss, while Carthage improved to 19-5 and 13-2 in conference action, clinching at least a share of the CCIW regular season championship with the win.

Carthage led wire-to-wire in the victory, outscoring Elmhurst 34-18 in the paint and fending off multiple Bluejay scoring runs to take the contest. 

Despite the loss, both Dominic Trelenberg (24 points, six rebounds, two blocks) and Tagen Pearson (23 points, six threes) had standout performances offensivley. Sebastian Blachut tallied seven assists throughout the game, while Vinnie Adjahoungbeta recorded a career-high 15 rebounds for the Jays.

The Firebirds began the game with a 14-0 run, with Elmhurst scoring their first points five minutes in. Despite the lopsided start, the Bluejays would end the half strong to narrow the deficit. Elmhurst hit five threes in the final six minutes of the half, including a pair from Talen Pearson, to only trail by seven points, 39-32, heading into halftime.

After a strong defensive effort from both teams began the second half, a transition trey from Talen Pearson would cut the home team's lead to just six with 13:49 remaining. With each Bluejay scoring burst, however, the high-powered Carthage offense would answer right away, maintaining a double-digit lead. Elmhurst would again cut it to six with 6:00 to go, and again with 1:23 left, but Carthage would maintain composure and knock down their free throws in the waning seconds to take the game, 83-71.

UP NEXT

Elmhurst wraps up the regular season this Saturday, Feb. 22, hosting the Carroll University Pioneers at 4:15 p.m. Elmhurst will honor their seniors for senior day with a special pregame ceremony.

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