The Millikin men's basketball team's late rally fell short as the Big Blue lost to Elmhurst College 87-81 in overtime on Feb. 19 in the Griswold Center in Decatur, Ill.

          Millikin forced the overtime session when freshman Jeremy Pezzelle nailed a 35 foot three point with two seconds left in regulation.

          The first half was all Bluejays with Elmhurst holding a 44-25 advantage at halftime.  The second half was a game of scoring runs for both teams.  Elmhurst pushed its lead to 19 points early in the second half, before Millikin went on a 14-0 run to make it a 46-41 game with 13:30 left to play.  Elmhurst answered back with its own its own 19-2 run to make it 64-43 with 6:49 left in the game.  Millikin would out score the Bluejays 21-10 in the game's final minutes to set the stage for Pezzelle's game tying basket.

          Millikin jumped out to a 78-75 advantage early in the overtime before the Bluejays took control.  A Kyle Wuest three pointer tied it at 78-78.  Elmhurst went 9-10 from the free throw line in the final three minutes to pull out the victory.

          Millikin shot 43 percent from the field while Elmhurst shot 42 percent.  The Bluejays out rebounded Millikin 44-36 and limited Millikin's second change opportunities by pulling down 31 defensive rebounds. 

          Deavis Johnson had his 10th double double of the season with 24 points and 16 rebounds.  He also had five assists and two steals.  Jacob Kueker added 19 points and five rebounds.

          Nick Sanford led Elmhurst with 15 points playing in front of his hometown crowd.  Wuest had 13 points and a team high eight rebounds.

          Millikin goes to 8-16, 2-11 while Elmhurst improves to 14-10, 6-7.

          Millikin will close out the season on Feb. 22 at Carthage College at 7 p.m.