A complete effort propelled Men's Basketball past (RV) MidAmerica Nazarene University Saturday in Atchison.
The Ravens played well on offense and defense in the 84-65 win. It was a strong finish to a week that had the Ravens play three games in six days.
After taking an 8-point lead into halftime, the Ravens kept the pressure on the Pioneers in the second half. The Ravens held MNU to 37.5 percent shooting in the second half and were kept 15 points below their season scoring average.
The Ravens had five players reach double-figure scoring: Jayden Temme had 19 points to lead all scorers, Tyson Cathy and Eric Krus had 13, and Nysir Scott and Jaiden Bristol each had 11 points. Cathy also added 11 points and two blocks, and Scott contributed seven boards and five assists.
The offensive execution was as good as the defense, for the Ravens, as they shot 52.5 percent from the field in the game. They were able to get what they wanted close to the basket, scoring 40 points in the paint.
The Ravens were solid in the first half, taking a 40-32 lead into the break. They shot 43.6 from the floor and knocked down five 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes.
The Pioneers shot the ball well in the opening half, too, converting 41.4 percent of their shots and seven from deep. A big difference, though, were turnovers. The Ravens forced nine MNU turnovers and only committed three of their own in the first half. That turned into an 8-0 Ravens advantage in points off of turnovers.
Cathy had it going in the first half, scoring 8 points in the opening 10 minutes. That included a contested, left-handed dunk to give the Ravens a 19-18 lead at the first half media timeout. Cathy was matched in the early going by MNU's Dante Scroggins, who also had 8 points in the first 10 minutes and ended the game with 13 points. Eric Krus also had 11 points in the first half, aided by back-to-back 3-pointers late in the half.
Next up for the Ravens (10-8, 8-4 Heart) is a road game at Baker University on Wednesday, Jan. 22. They'll return home at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25 against No. 3 William Penn University.
