ELMHURST, Ill.  – Bryant Ackerman scored 20 points and hit a clutch game-tying three pointer later in regulation to help lead the Elmhurst men's basketball team to an 84-78 win over North Central College. 

North Central (17-7, 7-6 CCIW) led for nearly the entire first half, scoring the game's first six points  and building a 33-23 lead at the break. Elmhurst struggled in the first 20 minutes, hitting only 7-of-31 attempts (22.6 percent) while North Central shot 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from the floor. 

Elmhurst started strong in the second half, opening the first six minutes on a 15-5 run to pull even at 38-38 after an Ackerman three-pointer.  Leading 43-41, the Bluejays used an 11-3 run sparked by four points from Kenny Payonk to take a 54-44 lead with eight minutes remaining.  North Central answered back immediately, using an 11-1 run to pull even at 55-55 with 4:35 left on the clock.

An 8-2 run gave Elmhurst a 62-56 lead with three minutes, but the six straight points brought North Central even at 62-all with 1:35 left. Trailing by two with just over a minute to play, North Central's Erwin Henry converted a three-point play to put the Cardinals in front 66-65. After an Elmhurst miss, Henry hit another layup to put North Central up 67-64 with just 45 seconds left to play. 

After an Elmhurst miss, North Central attempted to break Elmhurst's press with a long pass down court, but Ackerman poked the ball loose. Two passes later, Ackerman buried a game-tying three-pointer from the left wing with just 24 seconds left. Kevin Honn's layup attempt just before the buzzer was short, sending the game to overtime. 

In the extra period, Elmhurst built a four-point cushion with solid shooting from the foul line. With the score even, the Bluejays hit four straight free throws to build a four-point cushion midway through the extra period. A pair of free throws from Ackerman gave Elmhurst a six-point cushion with 1:10 left to play. North Central slicked the lead in half on a Jayme Moten three-pointer, but Will Nixon hit a wide-open layup to give Elmhurst a five-point cushion. After a layup from Henry brought the Cardinals back to within three, Elmhurst sealed the game from the foul line by hitting three of its final four attempts. 

The Bluejays finished the game shooting just 31.0 percent (22-of-71) from the floor and 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from downtown. North Central outshot the Bluejays as the Cardinals hit 26-of-56 attempts to shoot 46.4 percent from the floor. Elmhurst shot 78.0 percent (32-of-41) from the foul line while the Cardinals shot 61.3 percent (19-of-31). 

Rebounding proved to be a key for the Bluejays as Elmhurst controlled the glass, outrebounding North Central 56-37, including a 23-5 edge on the offensive glass. The Bluejays turned the 23 offensive boards into 17 second chance points. Elmhurst also capitalized on North Central's mistakes, scoring 25 points off the Cardinals' 13 turnovers. 

Ackerman paced the Bluejays with 20 points and nine rebounds, shooting 7-of-17 from the floor and finishing one board shy of a double-double. Kyle Wuest added 17 points, hitting 12-of-15 from the free throw line. Wuest added six rebounds and a team-best five assists. Erik Crittenden came off the bench to record a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds while  Peyton Wyatt added 13 points for Elmhurst. Nixon totaled eight points and nine rebounds in the win. 

North Central was paced by Charles Rosenberg's 27 points. Rosenberg shot 9-of-10 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the foul line before fouling out. Henry came off the bench to score 19 while Moten added 12 points for the Cardinals. 

Having already secured a spot in the CCIW Tournament, Elmhurst closes out its regular season next Saturday (February 21) by travelling to Illinois Wesleyan University.