CLEVELAND, Ohio – For the third straight contest, the Elmhurst University men's basketball team rallied from a halftime deficit, defeating the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor 87-84 in overtime to secure the Bluejays' first-ever trip to the Final Four of the NCAA Division III Championships.
Elmhurst got off to a sluggish start as Mary-Hardin Baylor scored the first nine points of the game. The Cru opened up a 30-15 lead and led 31-26 with 4:20 left in the half when Elmhurst fought its way back into the contest. The Bluejays closed the half on a 17-6 run aided by a pair of 3-pointers from Bryce Drews, five points from Dominic Genco and four straight free throws from Jake Rhode after a foul and a technical foul on the UMHB bench. Elmhurst pulled to within two points at 40-38 with 19 seconds remaining in the half. Josiah Johnson hit a pair of free throws with 0.1 seconds left on the clock to give Mary-Hardin Baylor a 42-38 lead at the half.
Elmhurst overcame nine turnovers in the first half by hitting six 3-pointers and 12-of-17 free throw attempts.
Elmhurst continued to battle back in the second half. Despite trailing by as many as seven points, the Bluejays stormed back to take the lead late in the contest. Down 68-61 with eight minutes left the Bluejays used an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to take their first lead of the game after back-to-back 3-pointers from Rhode and Genco.
UMHB moved back in front with just under three minutes remaining on a pair of Kyle Wright free throws, but a Lavon Thomas putback with 1:38 left gave Elmhurst a 74-73 advantage. Free throws from Ty Prince put the Cru in front 75-74 with 1:12 left to play. After an Elmhurst missed 3-pointer, UMHB was able to get a fast-break bucket from Wright to take a 77-74 lead with 42 seconds left. Genco quickly evened the game, driving to the hoop for a layup and a foul with 32 seconds remaining. UMHB had a chance to win it in regulation, but Wright's 3-point attempt was off target, sending the game to overtime.
With the score even at 81-all and less than two minutes remaining, Genco hit a pull-up jumper from the baseline to put the Bluejays in front. After a UMHB miss, Ocean Johnson hit a fastbreak layup to give Elmhurst an 85-81 lead with less than a minute remaining. Elmhurst missed a free throw and the Cru took advantage, as Wright splashed home a 3-pointer with 32.1 seconds left, slicing the Bluejays lead down to one at 85-84. Thomas was fouled with 15.1 seconds left and promptly hit both free throws to extend Elmhurst's lead to 87-84. UMHB was forced to call timeout with 2.5 seconds left. Josiah Johnson's 3-point attempt was off the back of the iron and the Bluejays came away with the victory.
Elmhurst shot 44.3 percent (31-of-70) from the floor, including 36.0 percent (9-of-25) from 3-point distance.
Elmhurst had four players finish in double figures in scoring and received contributions throughout its lineup. Rhode led the way for Elmhurst with 21 points, shooting 7-of-16 from the floor and adding six assists and four steals. Genco came off the bench to add 18 points, four assists and five steals while Johnson added 17 points and four rebounds. Drews shot 3-of-3 from downtown to finish with 11 points. Thomas and Jonathan Zapinski finished with seven points apiece for the Bluejays. Zapinski collected a game-high nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Wesley Hooker added six points and eight rebounds for the Bluejays.
Mary-Hardin Baylor finished the night shooting 41.9 percent (31-of-74) from the floor, including 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from beyond the arc. Ty Prince paced the Cru with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Luke Feely added 12 points and six rebounds while Wright totaled 14 points and seven boards. Johnson, the Cru's leading scorer was held to just nine points on a 3-of-19 shooting night.
Elmhurst improved to 26-6 on the season, setting a new single-season record for victories. Elmhurst will take on Wabash College in the Final Four. The two teams will square off next Friday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m. (EST) in Fort Wayne, Ind.