The Benedictine University men's basketball team kicked off the 2025-26 season at the Bill Merris Invitational hosted by Illinois College with a loss to Simpson.

FINAL SCORE
Simpson 75, Benedictine 68

THE DETAILS
- After falling behind early in the first five minutes of the contest, Benedictine used a 14-0 run to open a double-digit lead
- A pair of free throws from Noah Mason with Benedictine trailing 10-6 opened the spurt
- Pavle Magazin tied the score with a layup at the 15:01 mark
- Brandon McCoy knocked down a three to put Benedictine in front at 13-10
- Jakeem Cole capped an 11-0 run to give Benedictine a 17-point lead at 31-14 with 8:35 left in the opening 20
- Benedictine led by 11 at the half, 43-32
- Simpson slowly chipped away in the second, using outside shooting
- Benedictine held onto the lead until the final three minutes of the game when Simpson scored the final eight points

STAT LEADERS
- Benedictine finished the game shooting 36.7 percent but just 28 percent in the second half
- Both teams grabbed 38 rebounds
- Four players hit double figures for Benedictine
- Cole, Mason and McCoy all finished with 12 points while Ryan Sammons kicked in 10
- Mason finished with a double-double, adding 10 rebounds

UP NEXT
Benedictine (0-1) will play in the consolation game at 1:00pm on Saturday Read Full Article