Elmhurst Blows Past Olivet 106-67 Behind 15 Three-Pointers

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ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst men's basketball team connected on 15 three-pointers, the second-highest single-game total in school history en route to a 106-67 blow out win over Olivet College.

Elmhurst, ranked seventh in the latest D3hoops.com poll, was on fire throughout the contest, shooting 51.4 percent from the floor (37-of-72), including 48.4 percent (15-of-31) from downtown. 

The Bluejays turned in an early 8-8 tie into a 17-point lead with a 20-3 run over a five-minute span in the first half. Olivet (0-6) cut the deficit back down to eight points with a 13-4 run, but the Bluejays outscored Olivet 25-12 over the final nine minutes of the half to lead 57-36 at the break.

Elmhurst (7-1) continued to pull away in the second half, building a 30-point lead five minutes into the half after a Kyle Wuest three-pointer. The Bluejays pushed their lead up to 42 points with two minutes remaining before coasting the rest of the way to the 106-67 victory.

With his first three-pointer of the night, Wuest became the 24th player in Elmhurst history to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career. He finished with 13 points, four assists and four rebounds in the win. 

Five players reached double figures in scoring in the win. Bryant Ackerman led all scorers with a game-high 24 points, shooting 9-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. He added six rebounds in the win. Erik Crittenden added 15 points whilePeyton Wyatt came off the bench to score 14, hitting 4-of-7 from downtown. Will Nixon chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds while Nathan Rogers scored nine points for Elmhurst.

The Bluejays were dominant on the glass, outrebounding Olivet 45-35 and scoring 24 points off of 18 offensive rebounds. Elmhurst also made the most of Olivet's mistakes, converting 18 turnovers into 30 points.

Olivet shot 41.3 percent (26-of-63) from the field, but only 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from beyond the arc. Lee Gardner came off the bench to score a team-leading 23 points in the loss, shooting 8-of-17 for the contest. Eric Ewing added 11 and Chase Brocker tallied 10 points for the Comets.

The 15 three-pointers in the game, was the most for Elmhurst since the Bluejays hit 14 against North Central in 2003. The Bluejays were two shy of matching the single-game record of 17 set during the 1995 season in a win over Alma. 

Elmhurst takes to the road on Saturday, December 12, by traveling to the University of Dubuque.