PERU, Neb. – Benedictine Men's Basketball stopped a two-game skid on Monday with an overtime win over Peru State College.
The Ravens finished the game at 57.4 percent from the field as they earned a 76-73 win over the Bobcats. The shooting effort marked the fifth time this season in Heart play, the Ravens finished with a 50-percent shooting effort or higher.
The win gave Benedictine the regular-season split over Peru State while also keeping the Ravens inside the top 8 of the Heart standings by a half game with 7 games remaining in the regular season.
In the first meeting between the two schools back on Jan. 7, the Bobcats overcame a halftime deficit to beat the Ravens. This time around, the Ravens outscored Peru State 10-7 in overtime to prevent another comeback.
Monday night, the game played through 10 ties and 8 lead changes with Benedictine's largest lead a 7 point lead with 17:57 left in the second half and for Peru State, 6 points with 11:04 left in the second half.
Peru State built an early 7-2 lead over the Ravens and maintained that lead until a 3-pointer from Brycen LaRue pulled the game into its second tie at 11-all. LaRue pulled the game into the final tie of the first half with a pair of free throws that started a 14-6 run to end the half and give the Ravens a 39-33 lead at the break.
Benedictine held on to the lead for the first 7 minutes of the second half before the Bobcats tied the game at 47-all. After trading baskets, Peru State pulled heady six before the Ravens used a 10-2 run to erase their deficit and pull ahead 60-58 with just under 6 minutes left in regulation.
Preston Reynolds and Deaglan Sullivan combined for 6 straight points for the Ravens to push Benedictine back to a 6 point lead only to have Peru State answer with 2 3-pointers in the final minute of the second half to force overtime.
In overtime alone, the period played through 3 ties and 3 lead changes. Peru State scored first, that was followed by a jumper from LaRue and a pair of free throws from Sullivan to give the Ravens back the lead. Peru State tied the game with a 3-pointer with 57 seconds remaining in overtime before the Ravens hit 4 straight free throws over the final 34 seconds to earn the win.
LaRue lad the Ravens with a game-high 21 points, followed Sullivan with 17 and Reynolds with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
Benedictine returns home on Saturday to open a 2-game homestand as they celebrate Senior Day at 4 p.m. against Central Methodist University.
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