WOOSTER, Ohio – Derek Dotlich, Jake Rhode and Lavon Thomas combined to score 50 points to lead the Elmhurst men's basketball team past Lycoming 97-73 and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Elmhurst led from wire-to-wire, improving to 24-5 on the season and marching into the second round with the 24-point victory. The Bluejays have now reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament in each of their last three appearances.
Rhode and Thomas hit back-to-back buckets to start the scoring for the Bluejays and Elmhurst never looked back. Lycoming pulled to within a point with a three-pointer, but Elmhurst answered back with 13-4 run over seven minutes, opening up a 10-point cushion in the process. Lycoming surged back with a 7-0 run, closing to within three points (25-22) with 6:30 remaining in the half. The Warriors trimmed the deficit down to two points at 31-29 with three minutes left, but Elmhurst closed the half with an 11-3 flourish, taking a 42-32 lead after Hunter Merritt drained a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Lycoming (20-9) pulled to within eight points at the start of the second half, but the Bluejays quickly took over. Elmhurst ripped off a 15-4 run over the next five minutes fueled by eight points from Dotlich and five points from Jay Militello to open up a 57-38 lead. Lycoming used a 9-0 run to pull to within 10 points with 11:36 remaining. Leading by 10 with nine minutes remaining, Elmhurst put the game out of reach with a 22-7 run over the next five minutes, taking a 25-point lead in the process. The Bluejays led by as many as 27 points before coasting to the 24-point win.
Elmhurst shot a season-best .574 from the floor in the victory. The Bluejays connected on 35-of-61 shots, including 13-of-26 attempts from downtown. The Bluejays' .500 shooting percentage from three-point distance matched the team's season-high set against La Verne on December 18, 2019. The Bluejays outrebounded the Warriors 38-30 in the win.
Dotlich led Elmhurst and all scorers with 18 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from downtown. Thomas added 17 points and six rebounds with 11 of hits points coming in the second half. Rhode finished with 15 points, five assists, three steals and no turnovers in the victory. Rhode connected on 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc. Nick Perry added nine points while Militello totaled eight points, a team-best eight rebounds and four assists. Wesley Hooker came off the bench to score eight while Merritt finished with six points. Eleven different players put points on the scoreboard for the Bluejays in the win.
Lycoming shot 41.5 percent (27-of-65) from the floor. The Bluejays limited the Warriors to only 28.6 percent (8-f-28) shooting from downtown. Darius Dangerfield led Lycoming in the loss with 13 points and five assists. Ryan Hollis added 11 points while Dyson Harward scored 10 for the Warriors.
Elmhurst will face the winner of the Grove City/Wooster matchup tomorrow (March 7) at 6:30 p.m. (EST).