ELMHURST, Ill. – Jake Rhode buried a game-winning halfcourt shot at the buzzer to lift the seventh-ranked Elmhurst University men's basketball team to a 76-75 victory over fifth-ranked Wheaton College at R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst (7-1/1-0 CCIW) and Wheaton (7-1/1-1 CCIW) slugged it out for much of the contest with the Thunder leading for the majority of the first half and Elmhurst leading for much of the second.

With the score tied at 71-71 with 24 seconds remaining, Rhode put the Bluejays in front by two after hitting a pull-up jump shot from the free throw line. Wheaton answered back immediately as Nyameye Adom hit a driving layup and was fouled with 15 seconds left to play. Adom hit the free throw to give the Thunder a 74-73 advantage.

Things appeared bleak for Elmhurst in the final seconds as the Thunder came up with a steal and were fouled with 1.6 seconds left on the clock. Wheaton's Luke Anthony missed the first free throw but hit the second to give Wheaton a 75-73 lead.

After an Elmhurst timeout, Rhode caught the inbounds pass with his momentum going forward, took one dribble over half court and drained the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Rhode finished with a team-leading 21 points with 17 coming in the second half. Wesley Hooker added 17 points and six rebounds while Lavon Thomas finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Elmhurst concentrated its offense attack inside, outscoring Wheaton 54-16 in the paint. The Bluejays shot 34-of-70 from the floor (48.6 percent) Elmhurst took only 12 3-pointers, connecting on four.

The Bluejays jumped out to a quick 12-5 lead to start the contest before Wheaton hit a barrage of 3-pointers. The Thunder shot 9-of-18 from beyond the arc in the opening half, leading by as many as nine points with four minutes to play in the half. Elmhurst cut the deficit down to five points (39-34) at the half.

Elmhurst started quickly in the second half as Wheaton went cold from the outside. The Bluejays opened the half on a 19-7 run to open up a seven-point cushion after a bucket from Hooker. Elmhurst pushed its lead up to 11 with six minutes left, but Wheaton's Cade Alioth hit three consecutive triples to pull the Thunder to with two points with four minutes remaining, setting up the dramatic finish to the contest.

Alioth paced the Thunder in the loss, finishing with 30 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 10-of-16 from the floor, including 5-of-9 from downtown. Luke Anthony came off the bench to score 11 while Tyson Curickshank and Adom finished with 10 points apiece.

Elmhurst plays at Millikin University on Wednesday, December 8.