OSKALOOSA, Iowa – Benedictine Men's Basketball pushed No. 2 William Penn University down to the wire on Saturday inside the Penn Gym.
Eric Krus gave the Ravens a 67-63 lead over the Statesmen with 5:11 left in the game. From there, William Penn outscored Benedictine 16-6 to earn a 79-73 win and survive the upset bid by the Ravens.
William Penn entered play with Benedictine on Saturday as the top-scoring team in the Heart with an average of 93.1 points per game. Benedictine dictated the pace of the play throughout and were able to hold William Penn under 80 points for just the fourth time this season.
After William Penn opened the game with a quick basket, Nysir Scott and Jayden Temme pushed the Ravens to their first lead. For the next 12 minutes of the game, the teams played through five ties with only the Ravens holding the lead. The largest lead of the first half for Benedictine came midway through the half when Eric Krus connected on one of Benedictine's 7 3-pointers to give the Ravens a six-point lead.
Every time William Penn made a run at Benedictine, the Ravens were able to answer as they took a three-point lead into halftime.
The pace of the second half remained the same, with Benedictine maintaining their lead and matching any run by William Penn to take it away. Saxton Thuston connected on a free throw with just under 8 minutes left in the game to push Benedictine to its largest lead at 7 points, 60-53.
Even as William Penn started to make their run late in the game, Krus hit another 3-pointer with two minutes remaining to give the Ravens a four-point advantage, 71-67. William Penn took the lead for good with just 36 seconds remaining and the Ravens were forced to foul and send the Statesmen to the free throw line in an attempt to trade free throws for quick baskets. The Statesmen knocked in six free throws over the final 30 seconds of the game to survive Benedictine's upset bid.
Krus finished with 22 points as three Ravens reached double figures. Scott added 13 while Chris Jackson gave the Ravens an offensive boost off the bench with 11 points. Thuston finished with 21 rebounds to go along with 6 points.
The two teams combined for 82 points in the paint with William Penn holding a 42-40 advantage. The Ravens finished with 17 points off 18 Statesmen turnovers and 16 second-chance points as they finished with a 42-40 advantage on the boards.
With the loss sits at 7-4 in the Heart, setting up a big game on Wednesday as the Ravens open up a three-game homestead. Benedictine hosts Evangel University at 7:30 p.m. looking to regain sole possession of first place in the Heart South as the Valor also sits at 7-4 after beating Mount Mercy on Saturday.
