The Benedictine University men's basketball team was slowed in the second half and suffered a 71-53 setback to visiting North Central in the annual battle for the LaScala/Warden Trophy.

FINAL SCORE
North Central 71, Benedictine 53

THE DETAILS
- The first half was tight throughout
- Benedictine led for much of the half and held a 21-15 advantage on a three from Nathan LaPlant with 5:56 left in the opening 20
- The lead stood at five with 4:02 to play in the half but North Central embarked on a 10-0 run to lead 28-23 in the final minute
- Ryan Sammons hit a three before the buzzer as Benedictine went into the break down 28-26
- Jakeem Cole tied the game on the opening trip down the floor in the second half but North Central was able to pull away, responding with eight in a row
- Another run of seven straight enabled the visitors to take a double-digit advantage, continually scoring inside
- The lead grew to as large as 19 points in the contest

STAT LEADERS
- Cole led Benedictine with 12 points, finishing 5-of-10 from the floor with five rebounds
- Connor Glasgow amassed 11 off the bench in 23 minutes of action
- Noah Mason, Ryan Sammons and Ryan Tucker all finished with seven while Mason reeled in eight rebounds
- North Central held a 47-33 advantage on the glass
- Benedictine shot 34.5 percent in the game while North Central posted a clip of 51.6 in the second half, finishing at 42.2 percent with 44 points in the paint

UP NEXT
Benedictine (2-3) visits UW-Oshkosh on December 3. Read Full Article