The Benedictine University men's basketball team played a non-conference contest for the final time this season, suffering a 74-68 setback at Augustana.
The contest featured 11 ties and nine lead changes. The first half was close throughout but Augustana was able to hit three free throws as time expired to lead 39-36. The lead grew to double figures early in the second half but Benedictine came all the way back to tie the score at 57-57 on a
Tanner Resch layup with 9:22 remaining. Benedictine led by three with just over three minutes left but the hosts scored seven in a row to grab the lead and made four free throws to close out the contest.
Brandon McCoy and
Nick Howard both finished with 21 points. The point total for both were career highs.
Drew Stokes also reached double figures with 11. Benedictine shot 48.3 percent in the contest but was just 5-for-23 from three-point range. Benedictine scored 40 points in the pain and held a 39-33 advantage on the glass.
Cullen Cosme led the team with eight rebounds.
Benedictine (6-6) will return to conference action by hosting Concordia Chicago on January 6 to open the 2024 portion of the schedule.
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