Men's Basketball fell to the top team in the Heart of America Conference at home Wednesday night.

The Ravens lost to the (25) MidAmerica Nazarene University Pioneers, 79-65, but maintained a closer score for the majority of the contest.

Down by 3 after halftime, the Ravens opened the second half with a bucket by Ezrah Vaigafa and a 3-pointer by Braden Belt to move in front 41-39. After a pair of baskets put the Pioneers back in front, Ahmad Louis drilled a 3-pointer to change the lead once again. The Pioneers once again answered, but this time they maintained their lead for the remainder of the contest.

The Ravens continued to fight and were down by just 3 points with 8 minutes to play, but the Pioneers closed the game well, winning by 14.

Belt finished with 18 points to lead the Ravens, while also dishing out 4 assists. He was joined in double-figures by Gino Corridori's 14 points and 7 rebounds, and Louis finished with a season-high 12 points and 4 assists.

The Ravens finished the game shooting 41.1% from the field and were 8-of-16 from the free throw line. The visitors closed out the game with 48.4% shooting and didn't do much better at the free throw line percentage wise, but made it to the stripe more times and shot 13-24. MNU pulled down 44 rebounds to the Ravens 29.

The Ravens were right there with the conference leaders at halftime, trailing the Pioneers 39-36, a contrast to the first meeting between the teams this season when MNU held a commanding 15-point lead at the break.

The Ravens had a good shooting stroke in the opening 20 minutes, connecting on 46.7% of their shots including five 3-pointers. The Pioneers shot 39.4% in the first half, but crashed the boards and were able to score 12 second-chance points. MNU finished the game with 23 second-chance points.

The Ravens have a week off until their next game, a 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14 trip to Park University.