ELMHURST, Ill. - Zack Boyd scored a career-high 26 points, including 22 in the second half, to lead the Elmhurst College men's basketball team to a 60-57 win over Kalamazoo College.
The back-and-forth contest featured a whopping 23 lead changes and 11 ties. The largest lead for either team was five points.
The opening half featured 11 lead changes as Kalamazoo (1-6) took a 25-24 lead into the locker room at halftime when Mark Ghafari hit a lay-up in the closing seconds.
The Hornets opened up a 38-33 lead four minutes into the second half, but Elmhurst quickly tied the score after a three-pointer and a lay-up from Boyd. Kalamazoo used a three-point run to take a 55-52 lead with four minutes to play. Boyd knocked down a jumper to bring the Bluejays to within a point, and Mike McCurdy put Elmhurst ahead for good by burying a three-pointer with just under three minutes to play. Boyd hit a jumper in the lane with 1:27 left on the clock to give Elmhurst a four-point cushion, but Joe Prepolect hit a lay-up with 28 seconds to go to pull Kalamazoo to within a bucket. Boys spilt a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining to give Elmhurst a three-point lead. Ryan Clark's three-pointer just before the buzzer was too strong allowing Elmhurst to come away with the victory.
Elmhurst shot 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the floor, including 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from downtown. The Bluejays finished 14-of-21 (66.7 percent) from the foul line. Kalamazoo finished the contest shooting 50.0 percent (24-of-48) from the floor, including 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from beyond the arc.
Boyd poured in a career-high 26 points while shooting 10-of-18 from the field. He added a team-leading nine rebounds and three assists in the win. Steve Crane finished with nine points and four rebounds for the win. Mike McCurdy added eight points for the Bluejays.
Prepolec finished with 18 points, including 16 in the second half, and nine rebounds to lead Kalamazoo. Clark totaled 16 points and six boards while Joe Wilson scored eight for the Hornets.
Elmhurst hosts Loras College on Saturday, December 11.