The No. 11 Elmhurst University men's basketball team dropped their first game of the season and the CCIW conference opener, 54-68, to Illinois Wesleyan Wednesday night inside R.A. Faganel Hall.
Elmhurst (5-1, 0-1 CCIW) was led by Ocean Johnson (16 points, six rebounds) and Wesley Hooker (11 points, 5 rebounds), while Jonathan Zapinski led the team with ten rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. As a team, the Bluejays were held to a season-low .269 from the field and 37 rebounds.
The Titans (3-3, 1-0 CCIW) were led by Lucas Heflin's 14 points, while Ryan Sroka and Hakim Williams each added a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Illinois Wesleyan led the rebound margin, grabbing 19 more boards than Elmhurst, and held the Bluejays to a season-low 54 points in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bluejays jumped out to a quick 5-3 lead to start the game thanks to a trey from Hooker and a jumper from Zapinski, but the Titans were able to flip the script with an eight-point burst of their own to take a 13-8 lead five minutes into the conference opener.
Elmhurst kept it close throughout the first half with the Titans lead never growing over ten points, but a nearly five minute scoring drought and a 12-0 run by Illinois Wesleyan grew the visitor's lead to 18 with five to go in the half. The scoring picked up again for the Bluejays to close the half, ending on an 11-6 run powered by a pair of treys from Johnson, and the deficit stood at 13 heading in to the intermission.
Illinois Wesleyan maintained a solid double digit lead throughout the first ten minutes of the second half before a Tagen Pearson trey and a jumper from Johnson cut the Titan lead to nine with under ten minutes to go in the final period. While the Bluejays were able to cut into the lead, the team shot just 25% from the field in the second half, and an array of missed shots allowed the Titans to pull away with the 12-point victory.
UP NEXT
Elmhurst continues their home stand this Saturday, Dec. 3 with a conference matchup against Carthage College scheduled for a 4:15 p.m. CT tipoff. Saturday's contest will be the second leg of a doubleheader with the Elmhurst women's basketball team, who also play Carthage starting at 2:00 p.m. CT.
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