ELMHURST, Ill. - Erik Crittenden tipped home a basket as the final horn sounded, lifting the Elmhurst men's basketball team to a 71-69 victory over Alma College.

With the score knotted at 69-69, the Bluejays called timeout with 10 seconds remaining. Crittenden missed a jumper, but Will Nixon grabbed the rebound. Nixon's putback rimmed out and Crittenden tipped in the rebound as the buzzer went off, giving the Bluejays the victory.

Alma (1-3) came out strong, trading baskets with Elmhurst for the majority of the opening half. The lead exchanged hands six times in the opening 15 minutes of play before Elmhurst went in front 31-29 on a Pat Coleman layup.The Bluejays closed the final four minutes of the opening half with a 6-2 run to tak e a 37-31 lead into the locker room at halftime. 

Alma quickly erased the six-point deficit to surge in front early early in the second half. The Scots opened the half with a 10-3 run to take a 41-40 lead after a layup by Rob Holmes. AKyle Wuest three-pointer with 16 minutes left put the Bluejays in front 47-46. Elmhurst maintained the lead for the next eight minutes, extending its cushion to seven points after a jumper from Nixon. The Scots responded with an 8-1 run over the next 90 seconds to knot the score at 65-65 with 5:24 left to play.

Elmhurst grabbed two-point lead with 3:55 left after a pair of free throws from Wuest. Alma evened the score at 67-all on a lay-up from Scott Nikodemski with 3:03 remaining on the clock. The Scots reclaimed the lead for the first time in 14 minutes on a pair of free throws from Trevor Germaat with just under two minutes remaining. Coleman hit a pair of free throws with 59 seconds left to even the score at 69-69. Alma's Chase Fairchild had a three-pointer bounce off the rim with 31 seconds left with Coleman grabbing the loose ball and setting up the game's final sequence.

Elmhurst shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the floor, including 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from downtown. The Bluejays won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Alma 36-27. Wuest led the Bluejays with a game-high 15 points. Coleman collected 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals in the win while Crittenden scored 11 points, including the game-winner. Nixon finished with 10 points ans seven rebounds for the Bluejays.

Alma outshot the Bluejays in the loss, finishing the contest at 50.0 percent (28-of-56). The Scots shot 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from beyond the arc. Nikodemski led the way in the loss with 14 points and seven assists. Fairchild and Doug Bradfield added 13 points apiece for the Scots.

Elmhurst, ranked eighth in the lastest D3hoops.com poll, improved to 3-1 with the victory. The Bluejays host Adrian College on Wednesday, December 2.