LISLE, IL - The Benedictine University men's basketball team rallied from a 15-point first half deficit to upend the defending conference champion and preseason favorite MSOE on Tuesday night.

FINAL SCORE
Benedictine 81, MSOE 74

THE DETAILS
• MSOE was red hot to start the game, knocking down their first three shots to take an early 8-0 lead less than 90 seconds into the game
• A layup from Kenny Bogus and a three from Kyle Graebner drew Benedictine within 8-5 before the visitors made three of the next four attempts to lead by double figures at 15-5 with 15:15 to go in the first
• Benedictine whittled the deficit down to five on a pair of occasions before a 10-0 run from MSOE made the score 39-24 with 4:35 remaining in the half
• The lead again grew to 15 in the final minute of the half before a Kyle Graebner layup cut the margin to 45-32 at the half
• Benedictine opened the second half with seven consecutive points to pull within 45-39 on a three-pointer from Nick Kosich
• MSOE continued to hold Benedictine at arm's length before consecutive layups from Chris Hester and Derrick Faulkner brought Benedictine within 60-59 midway through the second
• MSOE extended the lead back to six points before Bogus ignited a 8-0 that enabled Benedictine to lead for the first time in the game on a layup from Faulkner with 4:36 to go
• A three-pointer enabled the visitors to quickly retake the lead before an 8-0 run put Benedictine ahead for good
• Kosich and Bogus hit threes during the run as Benedictine moved ahead 77-70 with 55 seconds left

STAT LEADERS
• MSOE shot 66.7 percent in the first half and held a +8 margin on the glass but shot just 30 percent in the second, finishing at 48.3 percent for the game
• Benedictine outrebounded MSOE by 13 in the second half to finish +5
• Benedictine knocked down 11 three-pointers and finished the game shooting 42.4 percent
• Four players reached double figures led by 16 from Kyle Graebner, who hit three treys
• Kosich knocked down four triples and finished with a career high 15 points
• Bogus tacked on 15 as well with Grygo adding 11, nine of which came from the free throw line

UP NEXT
Benedictine (10-2, 6-1 NACC) travels to Wisconsin Lutheran on Saturday afternoon in a matchup of the two teams currently tied for first in the conference