ELMHURST, Ill.—Elmhurst scored 10 straight points early in the second half Wednesday to break open a tight game and went on to defeat Augustana 80-71 at Faganel Hall. The Vikings dropped to 8-5 on the season and 2-2 in the CCIW, while the 11th-ranked Bluejays improved to 12-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference.
 
Lucas Simon (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) drilled a pair of three-pointers as the visitors grabbed an early 8-2 advantage, but Elmhurst got treys from Lavon Thomas and Derek Dotlich to tie it and the first half settled into a nip-and-tuck affair. Only briefly—when Augustana went up 28-24 on a Simon layup and 30-25 on another by Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.)—did the margin exceed three points.
 
Micah Martin (Iowa City HS, Iowa City, Iowa) split two free throws 44 seconds before halftime that tied the contest at 39-all, but Hunter Merritt hit a three-pointer 18 seconds later that sent the Bluejays to the locker room with a 42-39 lead. There were five ties and 11 lead changes during the first 20 minutes. Wofford led the way for Augustana with 14 points.
 
A steal and layup by Wofford to open the second half scoring cut the deficit to 42-41, but the Vikings were never able to retake the lead. A Jack Jelen (Bay HS, Bay Village, Ohio) free throw with just under 17 minutes to play got Augustana to within a point (45-44), but Elmhurst responded with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes. Jake Rhode started the spurt with a conventional three-point play and Dotlich capped it with a three-point field goal.
 
After a Wofford trey got the Vikings to within six at 55-49, the hosts scored seven straight to go up 62-49. A Dotlich layup just inside the 10-minute mark extended the margin to 14 (66-52), the largest of the night.
 
Four straight Austin Elledge (Highland HS, Highland, Ill.) points cut the deficit to 71-65 with 3:30 to play, but the Bluejays had an answer again, pushing the margin back to double digits (75-65) on two Rhode charity tosses at the 1:35 mark. Augustana would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
 
Wofford hit nine of 15 from the floor, including four of six three-point attempts, on his way to a game-high 22 points. His eight rebounds were also a game high, matching Martin's total. Elledge scored 13 of his 19 in the second half and added a team-high five assists. Simon tallied 11. Dotlich had 21 points to lead Elmhurst and Rhode added 20, along with a game-high seven assists.
 
The Vikings finished the night 26 of 62 (.419) from the field, but hit just 12 of 33 (.364) after halftime. They were nine of 26 (.346) from beyond the arc and 10 of 15 (.667) from the free throw line. The Bluejays shot .469 from the floor on 30 of 64, .258 (8-31) from three-point range and .600 (12-20) from the foul line. Augustana won the rebound battle 39-35, but committed 19 turnovers to 11 for Elmhurst.
 
Coach Grey Giovanine's club is back on the road on Saturday, January 11. The Vikings visit Millikin in Decatur, Illinois, with tipoff at the Griswold Center scheduled for 4:00 p.m.