The Raven men's basketball team went toe to toe with NAIA Div. I preseason No. 2 Oklahoma Baptist on Tuesday night inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium.
Benedictine (5-2) made a late run at OBU (6-0) missing a last-second 3-pointer which allowed OBU to escape with a hard-fought 54-51 win.
It was the first road game for Oklahoma Baptist University and just the third home game of the season for Benedictine.
The teams were nearly identical statistically in the first half. They both converted 10 field goals and six free throws. The different at the half came from the Ravens converting on two 3-pointers to OBU's one.
Oklahoma Baptist led by as much as five points in the first half before Benedictine started to get their offense in motion.
A 3-pointer from guard Brett Fisher (Soph. ,Overland Park) near the six minute mark gave the Ravens their third lead of the game.
After playing through six ties, a field goal by forward Steve O'Brien (Jr., Warragul, Australia) inside the final 30 seconds of the half, pushed Benedictine up by one, 28-27, at the half.
The first 10 minutes of the second half were controlled by Oklahoma Baptist as they were abel to build and eight-point lead.
The Ravens gradually chipped away chipped away but couldn't come up with a defensive stop to cut their deficit down.
Benedictine held OBU to nothing but three free throws over the final three minutes of the game, which allowed the Ravens to close within a single possession down the stretch.
The Bison converted on 7 of 13 free throws in the second half as the Ravens
In all the score was tied eight times and the lead changed hands 13 times on the night.
The two teams combined for just 18 second-half field goals in the defensive battle as they combined for 50 second-half points.
Only one player from either team reached double figures as OBU was led in scoring by David Johnson with 11 points.
Benedictine's leading scorer was Jonathan Anaekwe with 8 points.
The Raven bench outscored the Bison bench 27-18 as five of the six Raven reserves scored between four and seven points.
The Ravens return to the road on Saturday, traveling to Hillsboro to take on Tabor College. On Nov. 6, the Ravens earned their first win of the season with a home-opening win over Tabor 66-63.
