No. 14 Elmhurst keeps rolling
The Elmhurst College men's basketball team (8-1), ranked 14th in the nation in the latest D3Hoops.com poll, posted a 3-0 record over the past two weeks.
The Bluejays were 2-0 in the pre-Christmas RDV Sportsplex Tournament in Orlando, Fla., with victories over Tri-State University of Indiana (75-65) and eighth-ranked Hope (74-71). The Bluejays then came home and defeated Anderson 81-54 on New Year's Eve.
The Bluejays played at home again Wednesday night, soundly defeating Manchester College 76-62. Brent Ruch and Ryan Burks each scored 15 points.
In the win over Tri-State, Chris Childs scored 19 and Matt Ryder scored 17, both career highs. Ruch tallied a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Against Hope Ruch and Ryan Burks each scored 16 points, with Burks knocking down 3 free throws to break a 71-71 tie with less than a second to go. Jimmy Saris added 10 points and 3 assists and sank a clutch 3-pointer late in the game. He earned the tournament MVP Award.
In the win over Anderson, Burks scored 23 points and Ruch registered his fourth double-double of the year with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Robert Strzemp and Dustin Bainter came off the bench to score 12 each.
The Bluejays will play Saturday at Benedictine and Sunday at home against Alma in a makeup game.
North Central
The North Central wrestling team moved up to 12th in the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III team rankings and the Cardinals' Adam Johnson is ranked No. 1 in the national at 133 pounds.
Johnson, who is off to a 24-1 start with a team-best six pins, is a two-time All-America and finished third at last season's national meet.
Also ranked nationally are sophomore Gabe Youel (21-3), who is fifth at 184 and junior Ben Youel (25-4), who is ranked ninth at 165.
Women's basketball: North Central senior forward Barb Williams was named the College Conference of Illinois d & Wisconsin Women's Basketball Player of the Week.
Williams, totaled 35 points, 22 rebounds, 22 steals and 5 blocks in two games last week as the Cardinals went 1-1 at the Southwestern University (Texas) Invitational. She finished one steal short of a triple-double in last Saturday's 64-49 win over Buena Vista.
She had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 9 steals, and added 2 assists and 2 blocks. In a 55-54 lost to Southwestern the night before, Williams scored 22 points, pulled down 11 boards and had 3 blocks and two steals.