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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- Elmhurst claimed its second College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Men's Basketball Tournament title with an 82-65 win over North Central on Saturday at Illinois Wesleyan's Shirk Center.
Making their fifth CCIW Tournament championship game appearance, the Bluejays moved to 2-3 in the conference tournament final, having won their last two contests.
With the win, Elmhurst earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship. The Bluejays advanced to the NCAA's sectional round in 2020 before the COVID-19 Pandemic canceled the rest of the tournament.
On Saturday, Jake Rhode led Elmhurst with 23 points, while Wesley Hooker added a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds and Dominic Genco scored 11.
Matt Helwig led North Central with 20 points and six rebounds, while Ethan Helwig added 12 points and six rebounds for the Cardinals.
Elite 25 Award: Modeled after the NCAA's Elite 90 program, the CCIW Elite 25 is presented to the student-athlete who excels academically and athletically at the conference level in each of the CCIW's 25 sponsored sports. To be eligible for the Elite 25 Award, a student-athlete must be a sophomore, junior, or senior and in at least their second season of competition with their current team. Graduate students are not eligible. For basketball, the recipient with the highest GPA playing in the tournament championship game will receive the award.
2022 CCIW Men's Basketball Elite 25 Recipients
Jonathan Zapinski - Elmhurst
2022 CCIW Men's Basketball Tournament Schedule/Results
Tuesday, February 22
#3 Elmhurst 81, #6 Augustana 63
#4 North Central 57, #5 Millikin 50
Friday, February 25 (@ Illinois Wesleyan)
#3 Elmhurst 74, #2 Wheaton 68
#4 North Central 81, #1 Illinois Wesleyan 74
Saturday, February 26 (@ Illinois Wesleyan)
#3 Elmhurst 82, #4 North Central 65
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL).