The Bluejays jumped out to a 25-point cushion at halftime and never looked back. The Thunder came no closer than a 21-point deficit in the second half.
Trailing 12-11 in the opening minutes, Nick Michael put the Bluejays up for good with a dunk. The bucket by Michael started a 16-0 run for the Bluejays over the next seven minutes. The Bluejays continued to break the game open, outscoring the Thunder 21-9 down the final 8:23 of the first half.
Elmhurst was on fire in the first half, shooting 73.1 percent from the floor (19-of-26). The Bluejays also knocked down 6-of-8 3-point attempts (75 percent).
Elmhurst continued its hot shooting early in the second half, pushing its lead over 30 points. The Bluejays led by as many as 33 points with three minutes to play.
For the game, the Bluejays shot 60.8 percent from the floor (31-of-51) and 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from beyond the arc. Elmhurst converted 17-of-23 free throw attempts (73.9 percent).
Wheaton shot 42.9 percent from the floor (18-of-42) and 46.7 percent from downtown (7-of-15). The Thunder shot 94.7 percent (18-of-19) from the free throw line.
The Bluejays cleaned up on the glass, outrebounding the Thunder 27-18. Turnovers plagued both teams with Wheaton turning the ball over 29 times, leading to 39 points for the Bluejays. The Bluejays recorded 22 steals, one shy of Elmhurst's single-game record.
Pat Bacon led the Bluejays with 15 points off the bench, including 9-of-11 from the foul line. Evan Patchett added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor. Michael finished a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor to finish with 13 points. Brian Lee totaled 12 points and six assists. Chris Martin added eight points, seven rebounds and six steals. Chris Ihlenfeldt (Gurnee-Warren) and Robert Strzemp each finished with nine points. Brent Ruch pulled down a game-high nine rebounds in the win.
Tony Bollier finished 9-of-17 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, to finish with a game-high 28 points. Michael Fiddler added 13 points. Andy Wiele added nine points in the loss.
Elmhurst will try to make it five straight CCIW wins on Wednesday, January 25, when they travel to North Central College.