MARSHALL, Mo. – (RV) Missouri Valley College held off a second-half push by Men's Basketball on Wednesday night as the two programs opened up Heart of America Athletic Conference play.
After trailing by as much as 17 points early in the second half, Benedictine had a chance to tie the game late trailing 71-68 with five seconds remaining in the game. The shot was short, the Vikings pulled in the rebound and then converted two free throws to earn a 73-68 win.
Benedictine led 5-0 early only to have Missouri Valley answer with an 8-0 run to take over the lead. The Vikings never looked back. By halftime, the Ravens trailed 39-27 thanks to a 55.6 percent effort from the floor and a 55.6 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Vikings pushed their 12-point halftime lead to 14 inside the first minute of the second half. The Ravens started to chip away at that deficit and pulled within 7 points on a basket by Saxton Thuston with just under 15 minutes remaining. Missouri Valley remained in front, pulling back ahead by double figures by the midpoint of the second half.
Trailing 63-51 with seven minutes remaining, the Ravens outscored the Vikings 17–10 the rest of the way out, setting up the 3-point shot by Matt Austin to tie the game with five seconds remaining.
Missouri Valley finished the game shooting 50.9 percent from the floor while Benedictine was limited to 41.8 percent. The Ravens did connect on 85.7 percent from the charity stripe, but couldn't overcome the hot-shooting night by Missouri Valley.
Austin led the Ravens in scoring with 17 points followed by Eric Krus with 16. Thuston finished with 12 points while Nysir Scott added 11 to round out the Ravens top scorers.
Benedictine will return home on Saturday at 2 p.m. to host their Heart home opener against MNU inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium. Saturday marks the Christmas Toy Challenge where admission is free for those who bring a new, unopened toy that will be donated to the Atchison Salvation Army to help brighten the holiday season in the Atchison Community.
