BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – For the fourth time in the past five years, Elmhurst will play with a CCIW championship on the line, as the Bluejays held on down the stretch in a tight 82-80 win over 2nd-seeded Carthage in the CCIW Men's Basketball Championship Semifinal on Friday night.

The Bluejays would get off to a slow start, allowing the Firebirds to build a 13-point lead in the opening minutes before responding later in the first half. Talen Pearson regained the lead for Elmhurst with a three at the 10:19 mark, 21-19, and later in the first the Jays would use Luke Smith's three with 4:31 remaining in the half to take their largest lead of the night, 36-29.

Tied at 39-39, a three-pointer from Dominic Trelenberg and another bucket from Aidyn Boone would give Elmhurst a 44-40 advantage at the break. Neither side would see more than a five-point advantage throughout the rest of the game, with a total of 12 lead changes in the second half.

After a Firebird score put Carthage ahead 79-78 with 52 seconds left to play, Trelenberg would twice get to the line, and convert all four free throw attempts to put the Jays up 82-79. Up three, Elmhurst would send the Firebirds to the free throw line to close out the final seconds and secure the win.

Trelenberg led the way for Elmhurst, scoring 21 points in the win, increasing his career total to 979, just 21 points shy of joining the Bluejays' 1,000-point club. Boone finished with 19 points, and Smith tallied 12. Jack Cherry posted 11 points in 18 minutes off the bench, and Vinnie Adjahoungbeta pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Bluejays now prepare for Saturday's CCIW Men's Basketball Championship game, where they will face hosts No. 12 Illinois Wesleyan at 7:00 p.m.