Box Score

LISLE, Ill. - The Benedictine University men's basketball team played their final tune-up before the conference opener on Saturday and suffered a 69-55 defeat at nationally ranked North Central.

North Central, ranked 22nd in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25, never trailed in the contest. The hosts moved ahead by 14 at 20-6 following a 10-0 run with 11:43 left in the first half. Benedictine was able to chip away within eight, but North Central continued to lead by double figures, opening a 32-21 lead at the break.

Thanks to seven unanswered points, Benedictine was able to battle back to within five points at 39-34 when Tahron Harvey hit a layup with 14:51 to play. North Central again stretched the lead back to 14 and led by as many as 18 points in the second half in the victory.

Harvey led Benedictine with 11 points. Tyler Thurston added 10 points. Benedictine shot 57.1 percent in the second half and finished the contest at 43.5 percent (20-of-46).

Benedictine (1-3) has just one more non-conference game on the schedule in December. Conference play begins on Saturday afternoon at Edgewood.