LISLE, Ill. - The Benedictine University men's basketball team kept its conference tournament hopes alive by outlasting Wisconsin Lutheran 65-64 at the Rice Center on Wednesday.

Benedictine came out of the gates strong, threatening to run away early. The Eagles tallied the first seven points of the game and held an 11-1 lead with 16:40 left in the half when Tim McGinty converted on a layup.

Benedictine continued to build the lead, using an 8-0 run to jump ahead by 16 points at 25-9. The run finished when John Dodson completed a three-point play with 9:11 left in the half. The Eagles held a 17-point lead with 5:50 left in the half but Wisconsin Lutheran allowed just four points the remainder of the opening 20 minutes and pulled within 37-30 at the break.

The visitors were able to tie the game with 13:11 left in the contest and led for the first time moments later. The Warriors extended the advantage to five points at 46-41 with 12:16 to play. A run of 15-2 quickly turned the tables. Kevin Rollins used a three-point play with 9:49 remaining to tie the game and following a Dan Montano free throw, Luke Johnson buried a three to stretch the lead to 52-48.

Wisconsin Lutheran did not go away, scoring five straight points to move ahead 61-60 with 1:48 to play. Benedictine tallied five straight on back-to-back buckets from McGinty and a Johnson free throw. The free throw was needed as Wisconsin Lutheran hit a 3/4 court shot at the buzzer to account for the final tally. The second half featured two ties and four lead changes.

The Eagles shot 55.6 percent in the first half and finished the game at 47.3 percent. Johnson led two players in double figures with 16 points and added a game best 13 rebounds, the second consecutive contest with double-digit boards. McGinty added 15 points.

A loss would have eliminated Benedictine (6-17, 4-10 NAC) from the race for the conference tournament. The Eagles, who are two game behind Wisconsin Lutheran and Rockford, are back at home on Saturday afternoon at 4:15 p.m. against Marian. The contest is part of Hall of Fame weekend as the Class of 2013 is inducted.