LISLE, Ill. - The Benedictine University men's basketball team took down Rockford College 80-69 in a key late season matchup at the Rice Center on Saturday to pull into a three-way tie for first in the South Division and clinch a berth in the conference tournament.

Rockford led by as many as five early in the half at 18-13, but Benedictine used a 14-1 run to grab control of the matchup. Trailing 21-17, Jamison Montgomery started the stretch with a layup. Michael Woolf's three put the Eagles back in front at 24-22.

Nate Green used three straight free throws to expan the margin to nine at 31-22 with 6:08 to play in the half. David Bernard's three at the buzzer handed the hosts a 43-29 advantage at the intermission. Benedictine visited the free throw line 15 times in the half and scored 10 second chance points.

Benedictine raced away in the second half. shooting 60 percent to finish the game at 51.9 percent. Rockford couldn't close within double figures, creeping within the final margin on several occasions, but every time Benedictine was able to immediately answer. The Eagles led by as many as 18 points on two occasions in the second half to post the win.

Green again neared a triple-double, finishing with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists. The senior has led the team in scoring the last five games with four consecutive 20+ showings. The double-double marked his first of the year. Woolf also notched a double-double, his second, finishing with 15 points and 11 boards.

Benedictine (11-12, 9-6) will finish the regular season on Tuesday night at Aurora in a 7:00 p.m. contest. The Eagles are tied with Concordia Chicago and Rockford, who play each other at Rockford.