Men's Basketball opened the season with a hard-fought win at home Thursday night.
The Ravens defeated Haskell Indian Nations University 71-64.
After leading by 4 at half, the Ravens pushed their lead to 11 points with 12 minutes left to play in the game. Haskell had an answer, though, as a 7-0 run by the visitors cut the Ravens lead to 46-44 with 9:42 to play in the contest.
After a Ravens timeout, Deaglan Sullivan responded with a basket to give the Ravens a 4-point lead, then Sullivan had a steal and a basket to put the Ravens up 50-44. Sullivan then had two 3-pointers after Haskell baskets to help the Ravens push their lead to 8 points. Brycen LaRue also had a pair of 3-pointers to help the Ravens maintain their lead in the final minutes.
Sullivan had a game-high 20 points, followed by LaRue's 15 points, while Preston Reynolds and Jack Vander Woude each chipped in 11 points. Reynolds added 8 rebounds to lead the team, and Sullivan had 4 steals as the Ravens forced 16 turnovers in the game.
The Ravens struggled getting an offensive rhythm going in the opening half, shooting 33.3% from the field and just 2-of-15 from 3-point range. LaRue scored 8 points to lead the Ravens in the opening half.
On the other end of the court, the Ravens defense held Haskell to 31% shooting while also forcing 9 turnovers. Sullivan had a pair of steals in the opening 20 minutes.
The Ravens finished the game shooting 42.2% from the field but just 8-28 from 3-point range.
Next up for the Ravens (1-0) is a road trip to Lawrence, Kansas, where they will play Southwestern College on Thursday, Nov. 6 and then University of St. Mary Saturday, Nov. 8.