Twelve contest through the 20-game Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference schedule, the Benedictine University men's basketball team sits in second place with a 9-3 conference record. This week, the Eagles will play just once, hosting Wisconsin Lutheran College on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. in the Dan and Ada Rice Center.
The one-game week for the Eagles comes after a 3-0 week, as BenU defeated Rockford University at home and Dominican University and Marian University on the road. Benedictine outscored the three opponents 238-181 on the week, shooting 51.9% from the floor while holding foes to 38.9%.
Tahron Harvey and
Tim McGinty scored in double-figures in all three contests, and McGinty joined BenU's 1,000 point club in the win over Rockford.
Saturday: vs. Wisconsin Lutheran (8-9, 4-8), 3:15 p.m.
Benedictine hosts Wisconsin Lutheran on Hall of Fame Saturday, and the Warriors come into the contest on a bit of a slide. After winning four straight contests from December 20-January 3, Wisconsin Lutheran has dropped three consecutive NACC games by an average of 18.3 points. Saturday's game will be the last of four straight road contests for WLC, as the Warriors will also travel to Concordia University Wisconsin this week for a Wednesday night contest.
Despite the recent struggles, the Warriors hold a 1.5 game lead over ninth-place Concordia University Chicago for the eighth and final qualifying spot for the NACC Tournament. WLC has struggled to score this season, ranking ninth in the conference in points per game (68.1) and averaging just 60.1 on the losing streak. In addition, the Warriors are ranked tenth out of 11 in shooting percentage at 41%.
Recently, the Eagles have done well against WLC, winning three straight in the series and four of the last five overall. Benedictine won 73-57 in Milwaukee on January 7 to send the Warriors on the losing skid. In the victory,
Michael Blaszczyk led the Eagles with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while
Tim Reamer poured in 14 points off the bench.
