ELMHURST, Ill. - The fifth-ranked Elmhurst men's basketball team toppled number one ranked Augustana 77-75 in overtime in front of a packed house of R.A. Faganel Hall.
Elmhurst (12-1, 2-0 CCIW) led 38-34 at the half after 13 lead changes in the game's opening 20 minutes. The Bluejays led by as many as seven points in the second half before Augustana (12-1, 1-1 CCIW) grabbed a six-point lead with nine minutes to play with a 17-4 run over a seven-minute run. Elmhurst used six straight free throws to knot the score at 59-all with 6:30 remaining. The two teams proceeded to exchange buckets and leads for the next four minutes as the Vikings grabbed a two-point lead on a three-pointer from Jawan Straughter with 2:25 left in regulation.
The real drama began near the end of regulation. A free throw from Pat Coleman cut the lead in half with 2:15 remaining. Augustana used three consecutive offensive rebounds to run the clock down from 2:00 to less than 45 seconds, but Coleman came up with a steal and Bryant Ackerman split a pair of free throws to knot the score at 69-all with 39 seconds remaining. Will Nixon blocked a shot from Straughter to force a shot clock violation and gave the Bluejays the ball back with 6.9 seconds remaining. Ackerman's floater in the lane was no good and Kyle Wuest's tip-in attempt rimmed off. Will Nixon followed Wuest's miss with a tip-in that was originally counted by the officials at the buzzer. Elmhurst fans stormed the court in celebration, but the officials conferred before consulting video replay which showed the shot came after time had expired.
Elmhurst never trailed in overtime, scoring the first bucket on a layup from Nixon. Augustana evened Elmhurst's lead three times in the extra period with the score deadlocked at 75-all with 2:28 left to play. Erik Crittenden hit what proved to be the game-winning jumper in the paint with 1:20 left to play.
After the go-ahead bucket, Crittenden blocked Hunter Hill's layup attempt with less than a minute to play. Elmhurst wound the clock down to under 30 seconds before Crittenden's jumper was off the mark. On the ensuing possession, the Vikings got the ball to Brandon Motzel with three seconds left, but Nixon rejected the shot and Crittenden was fouled after grabbing the rebound with 0.8 seconds left. Crittenden missed both free throws and Augustana called timeout with 0.4 seconds remaining. The Vikings attempted to throw the ball deep down court, but the inbounds pass hit a steel beam in the ceiling, resulting in a turnover. The Bluejays simply inbounded the ball to run out the clock and preserve the win, allowing their fans an opportunity to celebrate a second-time.
Wuest sparked the Bluejays offense for the majority of the game, scoring 16 in the first half and adding 10 in the final nine minutes of the second half to tally a game-high 26 points. He shot 7-of-15 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Crittenden finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Nixon finished with 10 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots. Ackerman added nine points in the win.
The Bluejays outshot the Vikings 43.9 percent (25-of-57) to 34.6 percent (27-of-78) and won the rebound battle 46-41. Elmhurst attempted just 13 three-pointers, hitting six (46.2 percent), while the Vikings attempted twice as many at 26, hitting seven (26.9 percent).
The Bluejays' only problem came in the form of turnovers, as Elmhurst gave the ball away 21 times, resulting in 22 points for Augustana.
Hill led the Vikings in the loss, scoring 22 points while shooting 6-of-19 from the floor. The Vikings' leading scorer struggled from downtown, hitting just 2-of-9 attempts. Ben Ryan and Motzel added 10 points apiece. Motzel finished with a double-double by recording 10 rebounds while Ryan came up one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. Straughter added nine points for the Vikings in the loss.
Elmhurst travels to Millikin University on Saturday, January 9, to face the Big Blue in the Bluejays' first road CCIW contest of the season.