Elmhurst 78, North Central 72 (OT)
The Elmhurst Bluejays showed some variety in their offense at North Central on Wednesday, but when it came down to crunch time they went to their go-to guy.
High-scoring guard Ryan Burks hit 8 points in overtime, including a pair of critical 3-pointers, to keep the Bluejays in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin race with a 78-72 win over the tenacious Cardinals (8-10, 2-5).
Burks, who was held to 1 basket in the first half, finished as the Bluejays high-scorer with 18 points, with 4 baskets from 3-point range.
Elmhurst's other big gun, center Brent Ruch, was held to just 4 points in the first half but finished with a double-double, 11 points and 11 rebounds, including 8 off the offensive boards.
"I was struggling in the first half," Burks said. "But in the second half I was able to knock them down. I just wanted to get us a win."
"This was a critical game for both teams," said Elmhurst coach Mark Scherer. "This keeps us in the top half of the league and keeps us on track for making the conference tournament."
North Central's zone defense was effective in the first half as Elmhurst (14-4, 4-3) led 26-24 at the half.
"We've been a little tentative against the zone, because we didn't see it much early," Scherer said. "But now we've practiced it and our guys are more comfortable. We saw that in the second half. (Matt) Ryder and Burks hit some nice shots."
Until Burks' and Ruch's offense kicked in late, the Bluejays offense was carried by guards Matt Bainter, who scored 8 of his 11 points in the first half, and Ryder, who finished with 14 points and four 3 pointers, all in the second half. Jared Hintzsche, with 10, also scored in double figures for Elmhurst.
"Everybody knows we have two premier players," Scherer said. "So they're going to be surrounded by defenders. It's going to take a full team to win in this league."
North Central's Mitch Raridon hit a layup with 26 seconds remaining in regulation time to tie it at 64-64 and send the game into overtime.
In the extra period Hintzsche struck first to put the Bluejays ahead, but then North Central's David Twyman scored on the other end to tie the score.
Burks hit a 3-pointer, which was answered by Reid Barringer of North Central, who hit from behind the arc to tie the game.
But then Burks came back with his second overtime 3-pointer to put the Bluejays ahead for good with 1:16 remaining.
The Bluejays out-rebounded North Central 39-24. Elmhurst grabbed 20 offensive boards.
North Central also had balanced scoring led by Chris Drennan with 19. Matt Rogers scored 14 off the bench while Barringer kicked in with 12 and Twyman added 11.
"We limited their shots in the first half and gave them the shots we wanted them to take," said North Central coach Todd Raridon.
"I was proud of our kids. We hung in there. We're always right there. It's just a matter of us trying to finish the thing off. We lost Burks in our zone in the overtime, and we didn't get a very good look the last couple of possessions. We just have to keep fighting."