CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Benedictine Men's Basketball connected on over 50 percent from the floor for the fifth time this season on Saturday against Mount Mercy University.

The Ravens connected on 17 second-half field goals as they hit 58.6 percent from the floor in the second half, but that wasn't enough to snap their losing streak as Mount Mercy held off Benedictine for an 83-82 win. 

Mount Mercy jumped out to an early lead, pulling ahead by as much as 6 before Benedictine used a 14-2 run to erase the early deficit and pull ahead of the Mustangs. A pair of free throws from Jack Vander Woude led to a 10-0 run over a 3-minute stretch that put Benedictine up 14-10.

Benedictine maintained the lead until just over 7 minutes remained in the half when Mount Mercy tied the game at 30 points. Layups from Harrison Kisling and Preston Reynolds regained the lead for the Ravens. Benedictine traded layups for 3-pointers by Mount Mercy which allowed the Mustangs to take a 44-42 lead into halftime.

The second half was the definition of a back-and-forth game as the teams traded the lead 17 times with four ties.

Drew Purdy gave the Ravens their first lead inside the first 2 minutes of the half at 48-47 before the Mustangs scored 6 straight to pull ahead by 5 points. They held the lead through the 11-minute mark before Brycen LaRue connected on a 3-pointer to give Benedictine back the lead at 64-63 with 10:58 remaining.

Larry Parker III gave Benedictine its final lead of the game on a layup with just 90 seconds remaining in the game. Mount Mercy answered with a layup and a pair of free throws to regain the lead at 83-80 with 17 seconds remaining before Deaglan Sullivan hit a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left in the game. 

Benedictine was able to get a last-second shot off, but it didn't fall as the Mustangs escaped with the 1-point win.

Four Ravens scored in double figures, led by LaRue with 18. Reynolds and Vander Woude finished with 13 each while Parker added 11. The Raven finished the game at 52.4 percent from the floor, their second-best shooting effort in Heart play this season.

Benedictine wraps up the three-game road swing at 4 p.m. Monday when they play the makeup game in Des Moines, Iowa, against Grand View University. They return home for a 7:30 p.m. game on Wednesday with Park University.

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