Men's Basketball pushed its winning streak to four games Monday night.
The Ravens took down the Graceland Yellowjackets 80-76, hitting clutch free throws down the stretch to hold off the Yellowjackets upset bid.
After holding a double-digit lead at halftime, the Ravens their lead slim to single-digits as the Yellowjackets showed why they entered the game with a record of 16-4. In a span of 45 seconds, Graceland cut the Ravens lead from 50-40 to 50-47, and the final 11 minutes were a battle.
However, the Ravens never waivered down the stretch and never allowed the Yellowjackets to tie the game or take the lead. With Graceland purposely putting the Ravens at the free throw line to extend the game, the Ravens knocked down 12 free throws in the final 4 minutes to ice the game.
Braden Belt scored a game-high 18 points, knocking down 4-of-6 from 3-point range and all four free throws he attempted. Gino Corridor scored 15 points, Brycen LaRue and Haggan Hilgendorf each scored 12, and Jack Vander Woude added 11 points.
A 13-0 run helped propel the Ravens into halftime with a 36-25 lead. After the Yellowjackets took a 25-23 lead with 5:46 left to play, the Ravens turned things up a notch at both ends of the floor.
The run started with a 3-pointer by Vander Woude, and was followed by baskets from Belt, another by Vander Woude, and Gino Corridori. Fittingly, Vander Woude capped off the run with a deep 3-pointer before the halftime buzzer. While the Ravens were clicking on the offensive end, they held the explosive Yellowjackets scoreless for nearly 6 minutes.
The Ravens knew going in the 3-point shot would be important. Nobody in the Heart of America took more shots from deep than the Yellowjacket's 27.5, and the visitors averaged 9.3 makes per game. However, it was the Ravens who were prolific from deep in the opening half, converting 8-of-14 from 3-point land while Graceland shot 3-13.
The visitors found their touch from deep in the second half, making 9-13, but the Ravens defense focused on not allowing easy buckets at the rim. The Ravens also made a pair of 3s in the second half to finish the game 10-18 from behind the arc, matching their season-high for 3-pointers in a game for the second-straight contest.
The Ravens (8-12, 7-10 Heart) will only have a day to rest as they will host Missouri Valley College at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31 in the Ralph Nolan Gym.
