LISLE, IL - Two free throws from Eric Grygo with 12.3 seconds remaining allowed the Benedictine University men's basketball team to move to 8-0 at home, reversing a loss from earlier this year in a nail-biter with Concordia Chicago.

FINAL SCORE
Benedictine 66, Concordia Chicago 63

THE DETAILS
• Concordia Chicago, who rolled to a 90-72 win over Benedictine in River Forest, Ill. on December 16, seemed in a position to potentially run away again early, scoring the first five points of the game and opening a 15-4 lead at the 14:39 mark
• Benedictine responded by scoring the next 13 points, taking a 17-15 lead on five straight points from Collin Mergl including a three-pointer with 10:08 to go in the first
• From there, the remainder of the first half was back-and-forth with Concordia Chicago leading for a bulk of the opening 20 minutes
• Never down by more than three after the mid-point, two free throws from Kyle Graebner put Benedictine ahead with two minutes left and the score at the break was 29-28
• Benedictine came out strong to begin the second half, building a 38-30 lead on two three-point plays from Grygo and a three from Nick Kosich
• A layup from Mergl handed Benedictine a 44-35 lead with 13:29 remaining but the guests would not go away, coming all the way back to take the lead at 51-49 with nine minutes remaining
• The teams traded the lead for six minutes, Benedictine opened a four-point edge at 58-54 with a 5-0 spurt, but Concordia Chicago immediately responded with five straight as well to lead 59-58 with just over three minutes to play
• Concordia Chicago made good on a third opportunity to open a one-point edge in the final 30 seconds
• Grygo stepped to the line to make two tosses with 12.3 seconds remaining and then promptly drew a charge with eight second left, setting the stage for two free throws from Cade Ellingson to seal the decision
• The contest featured eight ties and 11 lead changes

STAT LEADERS
• Benedictine shot 37 percent for the game and held a 44-35 advantage on the glass while holding a 13th opponent this season below their scoring average
• Grygo finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds in a fourth consecutive double-double
• Kosich contributed 17 with Mergl notching 10

UP NEXT
Benedictine (13-3, 9-2 NACC) remains in a first place tie in the NACC and will head to Dominican on Saturday afternoon