MARSHALL, Mo. – A 5-minute offensive drought in the second half for Benedictine Men's Basketball proved to play a big role in Wednesday night's return to Heart play for the Ravens.
After a 3-pointer from Braden Belt pulled the Ravens even at 37 points, Missouri Valley College outscored the Ravens 10-2 to pull ahead by 8 points. Despite converting their chances, the Ravens just couldn't come up with a stop defensively as the Vikings kept the Ravens at arm's length to earn a 69-61 win.
After Gino Corridori scored the opening points for the Ravens, it was Belt that sparked the Ravens offensively. He scored 7 straight to push Benedictine ahead of Missouri Valley by 8 points, 11-3. Benedictine maintained their lead through the midpoint of the half. Haggen Hilgendorf hit a pair of free throws with 7:32 left in the half to give Benedictine back the lead. After trading the lead four times over the next 2 minutes, the Ravens pulled ahead outscoring the Vikings 7-4 down the stretch to lead 28-26 at the half.
Benedictine held a slight edge offensively after the first 20 minutes of play, hitting 41.4 from the floor while Missouri Valley hit 39.6.
Missouri Valley opened the second half with five straight points to take the lead from Benedictine. After building that lead to 5 points, baskets from Brycen LaRue and Belt tied the game for the last time.
Benedictine still held the advantage from the floor in the second half, despite being outscored 43-33. The Ravens hit 38.2 from the floor in the second half while the Vikings hit 37.9. Missouri Valley connected on 15 of 20 at the charity stripe in the second half while Benedictine hit just 4 of 12.
Belt finished with 18 points to lead three Ravens in double figures. Ahmad Louis added 11 points while Corridori finished with 10. Benedictine doubled up Missouri Valley in the paint, 36-18.
The Ravens close out 2023 with a pair of home games, starting with a 4 p.m. game on Saturday against William Penn University.
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