Elmhurst (Ill.) Spoils Men’s Basketball’s Unbeaten Season
Dec 13, 2014
ELMHURST, Ill. – The University of Dubuque men’s basketball team shot lights out during regulation but cooled off in the overtime period as Elmhurst snapped the Spartans eight-game winning streak in 98-93 defeat.
The Spartans struck first in overtime after Jacob Mohlis’ three-pointer gave the Spartans (8-1) the 82-79 lead. The Bluejays (7-1) countered with a 5-0 run that led to the eighth tie of the game at 84-84. After shooting over 58% in regulation the Spartans shot just 3-for-7 (42%) in overtime. It wasn’t enough against Elmhurst’s productive bench (nine points) and timely free throws (10 of 13) that sealed the deal in a back-and-forth affair.
A pair of Spartans came on strong late in the game. Mohlis poured it on late with 16 of his season-high 18 points coming in the second half and overtime stanzas. Andre Norris paced the Spartans with 24 points, 19 in the final two periods. The duo scored 13 of the team’s 14 points in overtime.
The Bluejay’s Kyle Wuest posted a game-high 31 points and connected on four straight free throws at the end of regulation. His final two makes with seven seconds left tied it up at 79-79 after a Lucas Ware jumper at the 27-second mark gave the Spartans a two-point lead.
Ware finished with arguably his best game of the season after putting up a season-high 15 points on 5 of 7 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds.
From the opening tip, neither team seized control in a game that featured 10 ties and 11 lead changes. UD came out firing on all cylinders in the first half after shooting 13 of 20 (65%) from the field. Gage Heffernan’s eight points led the Spartan attack in what amounted to a mere two-point halftime lead. Elmhurst shooters were held to 35.5% shooting but collected seven offensive boards that turned into eight second chance points.
Neither team held a lead bigger than six points as the Spartans posted 16 fast break points to Elmhurst’s four, but lost the battle in points off turnovers, 28-19.
Warmer weather beckons as the Spartans head south for the two-day Daytona Beach Shootout in Daytona Beach, Fla. on December 20. Game one is against Birmingham Southern University (5-1) at 4:00 p.m. (EST) followed by game two against Bridgewater College (5-2) on December 21 at 4:00 p.m. (EST).
