Elmhurst dominated the game from start to finish. The Bluejays held North Central, who entered the game leading the nation in team field goal percentage (55.3 percent), to just 39.6 percent. The Bluejays also owned the glass outrebounding North Central by 16. Elmhurst was also a perfect 24-of-24 from the free throw line.
After falling behind 2-4, the Bluejays took a 5-4 lead on a Chris Ihlenfeldt 3-pointer. The Bluejays then rolled up the game’s next 11 points, opening up a 16-4 lead. Elmhurst kept North Central at bay for the rest of the first half, allowing the Cardinals to get no closer than six points at 23-17 with 6:25 to play in the half. A driving lay-up by David Gershenzon at the buzzer gave Elmhurst a 35-24 lead at halftime.
The Bluejays continued to come out firing in the second half, scoring the first eight points of the half to take a 43-24 lead. Elmhurst managed to push its lead to as many as 22 points at 70-48. North Central never got any closer than a 14-point deficit in the second half.
Elmhurst enjoyed a solid shooting night from the floor, hitting 21-of-47 shots for 44.7 percent. The Bluejays shot 33.3 percent from 3-point range (6-of-18) and were a perfect 100 percent from the free throw-line, hitting all 24 of their attempts.
North Central, who entered the game leading the nation in field goal percentage, was held to just 39.6 percent shooting from the floor (19-of-48) and just 25 percent from 3-point range (3-of-12). The Cardinals also struggled at the free-throw line, converting just 10-of-17 attempts (58.8 percent).
Elmhurst dominated the glass, outrebounding the Cardinals 38-22. The Bluejays scored 16 second-chance points to North Central’s two points. The Elmhurst bench also outscored North Central 30-14.
Nick Michael led the Bluejays with a game-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor. He also pulled down eight rebounds in the win. Gershenzon gave the Bluejays a solid spark off the bench, pouring in 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Jay Brizzolara added 10 points, with eight of them coming from the free-throw line. Chris Martin added nine points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds in the win. Craig Schau added nine points in the Elmhurst victory.
North Central was led by Ray Vicario’s 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor. Anthony Simmons added 12 points for the Cardinals in the loss.
Elmhurst will travel to 16th ranked Wheaton College on Saturday, January 22, to take on the Thunder at 7:30 p.m.