DES MOINES, Iowa – Raven Men's Basketball outscored the home-standing Grand View University Vikings 14-7 in overtime on Wednesday night to advance in the 2022 Heart Men's Basketball Postseason Tournament.
Tied at 81 points after regulation, Grand View led for the first 90 seconds of the overtime period. A 3-pointer from Chris Jackson gave the Ravens their first lead of the overtime with 2:25 remaining and then Benedictine kept Grand View at arm's length from the charity stripe knocking in seven free throws in the final 1:09 of overtime to seal the win.
Much like their only meeting of the regular season back on Jan. 16, Wednesday's postseason meeting was very evenly matched. Grand View led by as much as six early only to have the Ravens erase that deficit and pull ahead to their own six-point lead. Trailing 28-24, the Ravens used a 10-3 run to erase their early deficit and pull ahead by six with just under six minutes left before the half.
Over the final five minutes of the first half, the two teams played through three ties but Benedictine only gave up their lead once before taking a 40-39 lead into halftime.
Grand View quickly erased Benedictine's halftime lead. Jaiden Bristol connected on a pair of free throws, a foreshadow of things to come, inside the first three minutes of the second half to pull the game even for the sixth time. Benedictine couldn't grab the lead back as Grand View pulled ahead by as much as seven points, 56-49, nearly midway through the first half. Benedictine answered using a 13-5 run to erase their deficit and take their first lead of the second half with seven minutes remaining in regulation.
The next seven minutes played through eight ties and 14 lead changes as the teams traded possessions. Bristol and Grand View's Ryan Miller put on a free throw clinic over the final five minutes of regulation. Bristol hit four of his 11 free throws in the final four minutes of regulation while Miller hit six of his 11 free throws over the same time period. After Matt Austin connected on a jumper with 45 seconds remaining, the Ravens led 81-80 before Dylan Miller hit a free throw with 23 seconds remaining to tie the game and send it to overtime.
After the Jackson 3-pointer gave the Ravens the lead in overtime, Bristol, Jackson, and Austin combined to hit seven free throws to seal the game for the Ravens. Benedictine connected on 15 of 18 at the free throw line in the second half and overtime to finish the game hitting 82.1 percent.
The 95 points set a new single-game high for the Ravens as they finished with three in double figures. Bristol scored a game-high 27 hitting 11 of 12 at the charity stripe with two 3-pointers. Austin added 24, converting on 10 of 17 from the floor with three 3-pointers while Jackson added 18 going 4 for 4 at the free throw line. Saxton Thuston just missed another double-double, scoring 9 points with 9 rebounds.
Benedictine remains on the road Friday, traveling to Springfield, Mo., to take on Heart South No. 1 seed Evangel University. The Valor needed a comeback effort on Wednesday to avoid the upset at the hands of Mount Mercy. In their two meetings this season, the Valor earned a pair of wins over Benedictine winning 78-67 in Springfield on Dec. 7 and then 58-53 in overtime inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium on Jan. 26.
#UnleashGreatness
