ELMHURST, ILL.—The Illinois Institute of Technology men's basketball team made the 17-mile trek to Elmhurst College for a non-conference showdown on Tuesday night. The Scarlet Hawks, who held a nine-point lead with 9:50 left in the opening half, were led by Miles Curry's game-high 20 points and seven boards. It wasn't enough as Elmhurst outscored IIT 49-29 in the second half en route to an 81-63 victory.
Illinois Tech falls to 0-2 while Elmhurst ups their record to 2-0.
The Scarlet Hawks either led or tied throughout the opening 16:12 of the contest. Ahmad Muhammad and Otis Reale had a lot to do with that as they each netted nine points and a pair of steals in the first half. It went by the wayside as Elmhurst grabbed their first lead of the game thanks to a pair of IIT fouls at the 4:40 and 3:48 mark, where they converted four-straight free throws en route to a 27-26 edge.
MBB | Scarlet Hawks lead Elmhurst 4-2 with 16:52 left in the first half!!! pic.twitter.com/Ec6ADejhKa
— Illinois Tech Athletics (@ILTechAthletics) November 20, 2019
The Bluejays would surrender one more lead in the contest before going into halftime with a 34-32 advantage. Jake Rhode, who scored just one point in the first half, erupted for 19-second half points en route for a game-high 20 points. Rhode commanded an Elmhurst unit that shot 17-of-30 (.567) as a team in the second half. Derek Dotlich finished the contest with 13 points for the Bluejays while Lavon Thomas and Jay Militello each drained 11 to round out the Bluejays in double-figures scoring.
Reale finished the contest with 13 points for IIT, while Muhammad tallied 11 points. Max Hisitake pulled down a game-high eight boards, four assists, and a pair of blocks for the Scarlet Hawks.
Illinois Tech will return to action on Saturday, November 23 where they'll open NACC play at home against Benedictine University at 2:00 p.m.
MBB | FINAL SCORE: IIT falls to Elmhurst 83-61. Miles Curry sank a game-high 20 points for IIT, who falls to 0-2 on the season. pic.twitter.com/Dqp14Jj1V1
— Illinois Tech Athletics (@ILTechAthletics) November 20, 2019