Chicago, Ill. - The Illinois Tech men's basketball team ran into rough waters Wednesday night at the Keating Sports Center, as Elmhurst University stayed hot with a 71-44 victory over the Scarlet Hawks. The Hawks dropped to 1-3 on the season. The Blue Jays improved to 3-0.

How It Happened:

First Half

• In a sluggish first half, the Hawks actually jumped out to a five-point advantage when Caden Gigstad hit a three-pointer with 5:52 remaining to put the Hawks up 22-17.
• The Hawks would go cold for the next five minutes, while the Blue Jays went on a 14-0 run to build a 31-17 lead with just over a minute remaining in the half. 
• A late basket on a layup by Otis Reale cut the Hawks deficit to 31-24 at the half.
• Illinois Tech actually outshot the Blue Jays in the first half 41% to 28%, but the Blue Jays converted on nine of 13 free throw attempts to boost their lead.

Second Half

• Gigstad hit a couple of three-pointers five minutes into the second half to get the Hawks within four at 36-32.
• The Blue Jays responded by scoring nine of the next 10 points to boost their lead to 45-33 at the 11-minute mark.
• A Calvin Schmitz free throw with 8:23 remaining pulled the Hawks within 11 points at 49-38, but that was a close as the Hawks would get the rest of the way.
• The Blue Jays doubled up the Hawks 40-20 in the second half en route to their 71-44 victory.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Gigstad had 10 points on 3-5 shooting from three-point range.
• Milos Dugalic added eight points with 13 rebounds.

Blue Jay Watch

• Lavon Thomas led the Blue Jays with 14 points to go along with seven rebounds.
• Dominic Genco and Wesley Hooker each added 13 points for Elmhurst, with Hooker also pulling down seven rebounds.

Inside the Box Score

• The Hawks shot 28.9% from the field on 13/45 shooting. The Blue Jays shot 37.9% (25/66).
• The Blue Jays had a decided advantage in three-point range, shooting 37.5% (9/24) vs 21.7% (5/23) for the Scarlet Hawks.
• Elmhurst out-rebounded Illinois Tech 50-33.
• The Hawks turned the ball over 14 times versus 10 by the Blue Jays.

Up Next

• The Scarlet Hawks will look to rebound on Tuesday, November 23rd as they travel to Platteville, Wisconsin to face the host Wisconsin-Platteville Pioneers at 7pm.