BOX SCORE

ELMHURST, Ill. – The Benedictine University men's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the 2010 Bluejay Classic on Wednesday night, with a close 82-79 win over Clavin College.
 

Calvin (4-6) held the advantage for the first five minutes of the game until Dario Jokic hit a three-pointer to give the Eagles (6-4) their first lead of the game. The lead would bounce back and forth between the teams for most of the first half, who both shot over 50 percent in the first half.

 

The Eagle's offense came alive in the last five minutes, taking as many as a seven-point lead with jumpers from Jerrell Tribble and Nate Green. The Knights cut the Eagle lead down to 41-39 at the half, after hitting two jumpers in the last minute from Jordan Brink and Danny Rodts.

 

Benedictine shot 50.0 percent (15-for-30) in the first half while Calvin was 51.7 percent (15-for-29).

 

Cameron Snelling gave the Eagles a five-point advantage with 14 minutes left in the game, scoring six straight points. Benedictine would keep a steady lead for the next five minutes.

 

Calvin College came within two points with eight minutes remaining but Green and Snelling's offense was too much, hitting a jumper and a three-pointer to take an eight-point lead with just over five minutes remaining.

 

The Eagles lead slowly deteriorated over the next few possessions, with the Knights going on a 6-1 run to cut the lead to three with two minutes left. In the final minute, BenU made 8-10 free-throws to take a 81-76 lead with just 16 seconds left on the clock.

 

The Knights did not give up as Brink hit a three-pointer with just nine seconds remaining. After another foul, Green would make one of his two free-throws to give the Knights the last possession of the game, missing a three-pointer at the buzzer to secure the Eagles 82-79 victory.

 

Snelling and Green led all players with 22 points while Snelling picked up his third double-double of the year with 12 rebounds. Jokic tallied 14 points and six rebounds while Tribble had 13 points and four steals. Brown had a game high six assists and also had eight points and five rebounds.

As a team, BenU was 27-for-58 from the floor (46.6 percent) and 19-for-26 from the free-throw line (73.1 percent). The Eagles out-rebounded the Knights 36-21.

Brent Schuster led Calvin with 18 points while the Knights shot 53.3 percent from the field (320-for-60).

Benedictine moves on to the championship game of the Bluejay Classic, taking on Elmhurst College at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 30. The game can be viewed live at www.bluejaytv.com.