After Rose-Hulman stopped the Bluejays in the final 10 seconds, Muskeyvalley missed a 25-foot three-pointer with three seconds left. The rebound caromed to Muskeyvalley, whose fallaway 16-footer at the buzzer rimmed out, lifting Elmhurst to the win.
Senior Jason Ludwig led Rose-Hulman with 13 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots. Senior Philip Griffith added 11 points and six rebounds, while Muskeyvalley reached double figures with 10 points and added three steals.
Both teams struggled shooting in the first half, as Elmhurst shot 30% from the field and Rose-Hulman was held to 36% in a 19-19 halftime tie. In the second half, Rose-Hulman pushed the lead to a game-high seven points at 35-28 with 10:12 remaining on a pair of free throws by junior Brennan Dunville, who came off the bench for six points in the contest.
Elmhurst rallied with an 8-0 run, holding the Engineers scoreless for the next three minutes, to gain a 36-35 lead on a layup by Chris Martin with 7:23 left. Rose-Hulman again pushed the lead to five points at 43-38 with 5:05 remaining, courtesy of two free throws by Ludwig.
Elmhurst regained the lead at 45-43 on a three-point play by Martin, before foul shots by Ludwig and Muskeyvalley knotted the game at 45-45 with 1:55 left. Gershenzon then buried a three-pointer with 1:38 remaining to put the Bluejays ahead 48-45. A quick layup by Griffith cut the Rose-Hulman deficit to 48-47 with 1:21 left.
Nick Michael then hit a 15-foot jumper with 1:00 remaining to give the Bluejays a 50-47 lead, before Ludwig scored on a rebound basket at the 42-second mark to bring the Engineers within 50-49 with 42 seconds left.
Rose-Hulman forced a stop on the next possession, as Ludwig grabbed a missed three-pointer from Gershenzon, setting the stage for the final possession.
Elmhurst improved to 1-0 and will play Embry-Riddle for the championship on Saturday night. Rose-Hulman dropped to 0-1 and will square off against Voorhees College on Saturday at 6 p.m.