Box Score

CHICAGO, Ill. - The Benedictine University men's basketball team cruised to a 71-54 road non-conference win over North Park with a solid second half.

Benedictine led for most of the game. The Eagles scored seven straight points to open a 21-12 lead with 8:41 remaining in the first half. North Park slowly chipped away, tying the score at 29-29 with 4:25 left in the half. The hosts went on to lead by three points. Two free throws from Michael Blaszczyk in the final minute brought Benedictine within a point at the break, 37-36. Benedictine visited the free throw line 20 times in the first half but hit just 10 attempts.

Consecutive layups from Dale Renshaw and Tim McGinty to open the second put Benedictine on top. The Eagles led by as many as nine points, keeping the hosts at arms length. Benedictine knocked home nine free throws in the final 2:25 to turn a nine-point lead into the 17-point final margin.

"Great defensive effort tonight," said head coach Keith Bunkenburg. "We did not shoot ball well, but we competed on defense. After giving up 99 Saturday, then just 54 tonight. We need a consistent effort on defense and we can beat some teams."

Tahron Harvey paced Benedictine with 20 points, 14 of which came from the stripe. Benedictine made 42 visits to the line in the game. Blaszczyk added 15 to go with 10 rebounds. Renshaw also reached double figures with 10 points. The Eagles also held a commanding 51-35 edge on the glass.

Benedictine (4-6) will host MSOE on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. in the final game of 2013.