Men's Basketball put together a strong team performance to close out the regular season Monday night in the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium.
The (25) Ravens defeated the Grand View University Vikings 78-56, slowing down the Vikings best scorers.
The Ravens defense was the star of the show, helping turn a 12-point halftime lead into a 29-point lead at one point in the second half. The Ravens held GVU to just 25 points in the second half and held the visitors to 25.9% shooting in the final 20 minutes. The Vikings also committed 14 turnovers Monday after entering the contest averaging just 11 turnovers per game.
On the offensive end of the floor, ball movement was key as the Ravens built an insurmountable lead. The home squad had 22 assists on 31 baskets, constantly making the extra pass to find an open teammate.
Eric Krus led the way with 17 points, Matt Austin had 14, Jayden Temme scored 13 and Nysir Scott added 11 points. Jaiden Bristol recorded seven assists and three steals, and Temme and Austin distributed four assists, each. The Ravens shot 45.2% from the field in the second half and knocked down 7-of-16 from behind the 3-point line.
Austin paced the Ravens as they built a 43-31 lead at halftime. Austin had the mid-range game going, knocking down three-straight jumpers and then capped off his first half by hitting a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left on the clock to put the Ravens up by 12.
Defensively, the Ravens limited Grand View's Ryan Miller to 0 points in the first half. Miller entered the game averaging nearly 23 points per game for the Vikings, finishing with 2 points on the night. Drew Johnson also averaged 13 points per game for the Vikings, but was held to 5 points.
The Ravens shot 44.7% from the field in the first half and 36.8% from 3-point range. The Vikings were similar, shooting 43.3% from the floor and 38.5 from deep. The difference came in turnovers; the Ravens had three at halftime while forcing the Vikings into seven turnovers.
During the Ravens current six-game winning streak, they've held each opponent under 70 points and came into Monday's game with the NAIA's 17th-best defensive scoring mark, allowing 69.2 points per game. That number will improve after the Ravens held the Vikings to 56 points on Monday.
The Ravens (18-5, 15-4 Heart) are the Heart South Division's top seed heading into the conference tournament. Incidentally, they'll host Grand View in the first round of the tournament on Thursday in Atchison because the Vikings are the North Division's four seed. Game time is still being discussed.
#UnleashGreatness
