LISLE, IL - Behind a 50-point showing in the second half, the 18th-ranked Benedictine University men's basketball team claimed a share of a third consecutive Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference title and secured the top seed.

FINAL SCORE
#18 Benedictine 79, Wisconsin Lutheran 58

THE DETAILS
• Wisconsin Lutheran controlled the early portion of the game, building an early 7-0 lead
• Adam Reynolds brought Benedictine within 11-10 with a free throw at the 13:19 marker of the first
• Seven straight from the visitors extended the lead to 22-14 with just 7:51 to go in the first
• Benedictine trailed by nine points with 5:55 remaining in the half but ripped off 12 straight to take the lead
• Reynolds opened the run with a layup while a three-pointer from Michael Blaszczyk put Benedictine ahead 29-26 with 2:49 left in the half
• Benedictine would not trail again despite one of the worst offensive halves of the season
• The team shot just 32 percent in the opening 20 minutes
• An early 10-2 run in the second keyed by three-pointers from Brayden Olson and Matt Chaltin allowed Benedictine to jump ahead 41-32 with 16:11 to play
• Wisconsin Lutheran hung around before a late push enabled Benedictine to pull away
• A 9-1 stretch extended the lead to double figures halfway through the second
• Tahron Harvey hit a three in the final minute as part of an 8-0 run to give Benedictine the largest lead at 79-56
• The win marked the seventh in a row for Benedictine and capped a stretch of six games in 13 days
• All six victories in the stretch came by 13 or more with the last five by greater than 20
• As the top seed, Benedictine receives a first round bye in the conference tournament and will play all conference tourney games at home

STAT LEADERS
• Benedictine rebounded to shoot 62.1 percent in the second half and finish the game at 46 percent
• Benedictine made 12 three-pointers and have hit 10 or more in five straight contests
• The team held a 42-35 edge on the glass after being outrebounded in the first meeting
• Two players tallied double-doubles with five reaching double figures
• Blaszczyk again neared a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists
• Reynolds and Harvey paced Benedictine with 15 apiece
• Reynolds crossed the 500-rebound marker by adding 10 boards
• Olson finished with 14 and has scored in double figures in six of the last seven contests
• Chaltin picked up 12 for his second straight double-digit showing

UP NEXT
Benedictine (18-4, 16-1 NACC) can win a second straight outright conference title with a win on Wednesday night at Concordia Chicago