The Benedictine University men's basketball team led by double digits in the first half but could not stave off a rally from visiting St. Norbert, falling 80-74 at home on Wednesday night.
Benedictine scored the first points of the game on a basket from
Noah Mason and did not trail in the first half.
Nathan LaPlant converted on a layup and
Patrick Mayfield hit his first of eight three to break a 4-4 deadlock and give Benedictine a 9-4 advantage. The lead slowly increased and consecutive triples from
Ryan Sammons and Mayfield put Benedictine up 33-21 with 8:15 remaining in the first. With 2:58 left in the opening half Benedictine led by 11 but St. Norbert closed the half with nine straight, drawing within 40-38 at the break. The lead stretched out to seven early in the second but St. Norbert utilized a 10-2 stretch to move ahead by four at 60-56 with 10:13 left. The visitors led by seven with just over three minutes left but Benedictine was able to whittle the margin down to a single point at 75-74 on a layup from
Tanner Resch before St. Norbert finished out the game with four straight, securing key rebounds to hold on for the victory.
St. Norbert shot 55 percent in the second half. Benedictine finished the game at 47 percent but nailed a season high 14 three-pointers, eight from Mayfield, shooting 63.6 percent from bonus distance. Mayfield led all scorers with 25 points, a seventh game of 20+ this year. Mason logged 13 points while Resch fell just short of a triple-double, tallying eight points to go with 11 assists and 12 rebounds.
Benedictine (5-12, 4-6 NACC) visits MSOE on Saturday.
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