Box Score
ST. PAUL ,Minn. - The Elmhurst College men's basketball team won its 2009-10 season opener by scoring a 79-70 road victory at Hamline University.
Elmhurst (1-0) fell behind early in the first half by as many as eight points, but the Bluejays battled back to knot the score at 38-all at halftime. With the score tied at 44 six minutes into the second half, Elmhurst used an 8-0 run to take control of the game.
Chris Childs scored a team-leading 21 points in the Bluejays' win.
Elmhurst held its eight point lead with five minutes remaining, but a 6-0 run by Hamline (0-1) brought the Pipers to within two points with just under three minutes left on the clock.
Chris Childs knocked down a shot with 1:40 remaining to give the Bluejays a four-point cushion. After a missed shot by Hamline,
Dustin Bainter knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Bluejays a 71-65 lead. Childs and Bainter combined to go 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the closing minute to seal the victory for the Bluejays.
Childs came off the bench to score a team-high 21 points to lead the Bluejays in the victory. He finished 7-of-10 from the floor and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the foul line.
Zack Boyd came off the bench to contribute 15 points and a team-leading six rebounds.
Mike McCurdy added nine points and four assists while Bainter finished with eight points.
Joe Acosta added seven points for the Bluejays.
Hamline was led by Carl Hipp's double-double of 25 points and 20 rebounds. Hipp finished 8-of-14 from the floor and the free throw line. Levi Wenrich added 11 points for the Pipers in the loss.
Elmhurst's bench contributed 57 of the Bluejays' 79 total points. The Bluejays' reserves outscored the Hamline starters by nine.
The Bluejays finished the game shooting 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the floor, including 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from beyond the arc. The Bluejays were an impressive 23-of-26 (88.5 percent) from the foul line, including a perfect 10-of-10 in the second half.
Hamline finished the game shooting 32.3 percent (20-of-62) from the floor. The Pipers hit just 1-of-12 3-point attempts (8.3 percent) while shooting 72.5 percent (29-of-40) from the charity stripe. The Pipers won the rebounding battle 45-38.
Elmhurst hosts St. Norbert College on Saturday, November 21, at 7:30 p.m.