FULTON, Mo. – Benedictine Men's Basketball secured its first win of 2026, taking down Heart newcomer William Woods on the road.
After battling through a back-and-forth game throughout the first half, Benedictine turned a tie at 45 minutes into the second half into a 93-84 win over the Owls.
William Woods led by as much as 6 points early after Aiden Sullivan scored the Ravens first basket to open the game. After battling through three more ties, Benedictine took its first lead with just over 9 minutes left in the half on a basket from Gabe Sydzyik. The Ravens led by as much as 4 on their next possession, a layup from Jared Lee. From that point, the teams played through five lead changes and two more tis before Brycen LaRue hit a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to send Benedictine into halftime with a 38-36 lead.
William Woods pulled even with Benedictine within the first four minutes of the second half, but the Ravens never gave up their halftime lead.
Preston Reynolds started a 10-0 run for Benedictine that was capped off by LaRue to make it 55-45 Ravens with just under 13 minutes left in the game. William Woods closed Benedictine's lead down to 4 points before a 3-pointer from Jack Vander Woude and another layup from LaRue pushed Benedictine back up by 9 points with 7 minutes remaining.
While Aiden Sullivan gave the Ravens another double figure lead, 80-79, with 4 minutes remaining, the Owls used a 9-0 run to pull within 3 points with 90 seconds remaining.
Benedictine converted 10 free throws over a 1-minute stretch to keep William Woods at arm's length before earning the 9-point win.
Four Ravens finished in double figures, led by LaRue with 24 points. He accounted for 4 of Benedictine's 8 3-pointers, while hitting on all 4 trips to the free throw line. Aiden Sullivan finished with 20 points, followed by Deaglan Sullivan with 17 points and 8 assists. Vander Woude finished with 13 points, hitting 3 of Benedictine's remaining 4 3-pointers.
Benedictine returns home for the first time in 2026 on Wednesday, hosting a 7:30 p.m. game against Peru State College.
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