PARKVILLE, Mo. – Heading into their fifth meeting as members of the same conference, 9 of the last 10 games between Men's Basketball and Park University were decided by single digits.
Wednesday night, a free throw by Sam Ungashick with 9 seconds remaining in the game and a defensive stand by the Ravens made it 9 of the last 10 games as Benedictine earned a 64-63 win.
With the win, Benedictine moved the series square with Park over that 10-game streak and 15-8 against Park since November of 2007.
Benedictine led by as many as 5 points during the first half and Park led by as much as 6 points during the second half as the game played through a total of 10 ties and 16 lead changes.
Braden Belt got the Ravens scoring started with a 3-pointer as Benedictine's first basket of the game. A 3-pointer just over four minutes later gave the Pirates their first lead and the tone was set for a back-and-forth battle.
Jayden Temme put Benedictine ahead 24-19 with 8:12 remaining in the half before Park outscored Benedictine 10-3 the rest of the half to take a 29-27 lead at the break.
Park continued their offensive run into the second half, pulling ahead by their largest lead at 33-27 inside the first three minutes of the period. A 3-pointer from Belt four minutes later gave Benedictine its first lead of the second half but that lead was short-lived.
After the game pulled even at 40 with just under 13 minutes remaining, the lead changed hands five times with four more ties. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Temme and Ahmad Louis pushed Benedictine back in the lead at 4 points before the Pirates tied the game minutes later.
Belt finished with a game-high 18 points as four Ravens finished in double figures. He hit 6 3-pointers as Benedictine matched their season-high total with 14 3-pointers. Temme finished with 13, Louis added 12 while Ungashick added 10.
Benedictine finished the game with a season-low 6 turnovers while forcing Park into 15 turnovers which allowed them to outscore the Pirates 15-7 off turnovers.
The Ravens close out the 2022 portion of their schedule on Saturday, with a trip to Dubuque, Iowa, to take on Clarke University at 2 p.m. They will open 2023 with three straight home games, starting on Jan. 4 with Central Methodist University.
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