OLATHE – Despite MNU leading for nearly 30 minutes of the game on Saturday, Men's Basketball was able to battle back to start their three-game road swing off with a win.
A pair of free throws from Jayden Temme followed by a basket from Joel Adele with 6:16 remaining in the game gave Benedictine its first lead of the second half. The Ravens pushed ahead by 9 points and then held off a late push by the Pioneers to earn a 71-69 win inside Bell Family Arena.
MNU led the game from the tip. The Pioneers pulled out to an 11-point lead in the first 6 minutes of the game. They remained in the lead until Sam Ungashick hit a 3-pointer with just over 5 minutes remaining in the half.
The teams traded baskets down the stretch to end the first half with MNU eventually able to pull back ahead by 4 points, 38-34, at the break.
Benedictine connected on 8 3-pointers in the first half, making a total of 12 field goals while MNU converted 15 first-half field goals with just 5 3-pointers.
The Pioneers stretched their halftime advantage to 7 before the Ravens battled back and pulled the game even at 45 on a basket from Anthony Hall. Despite a 9-2 run that pulled the game even, the Ravens were not able to regain the lead until the basket by Adese with just over 6 minutes remaining.
Benedictine held MNU to just 9 second-half field goals and a 32.1 percent shooting effort. Meanwhile, the Ravens converted on 13 of 22 from the field in the second half to finish the game shooting 52.1 percent from the floor and 64.3 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
Temme led three Ravens in double figures with 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting with 3 3-pointers. Ungashick and Tyson Cathy both added 13 points while Cathy added 8 rebounds. Benedictine held a two-rebound advantage, 32-30, and outscored the Pioneers 33-29. Adese and Preston Reynolds combined for 17 points off the bench for the Ravens as they finished with a 19-4 advantage in bench scoring.
The Ravens remain on the road Monday, traveling to Marshall, Mo., to take on Missouri Valley College in the middle of their 3-game road swing and to start a 3-game week.
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