RIVER FALLS, WI - The Benedictine University men's basketball team saw the season end with a first round loss to Wartburg in the NCAA Tournament at UW-River Falls.
FINAL SCORE
Wartburg 92, Benedictine 66
THE DETAILS
• Michael Blaszczyk opened the scoring, handing Benedictine one of the few first half advantages
• Wartburg opened a seven-point lead at 15-8 with consecutive layups at the 13:15 mark of the first
• Adam Reynolds sliced the deficit down to just a point with a layup at the 12:01 marker
• Wartburg went on a 12-2 run to open a 27-16 advantage with 8:51 left in the half
• The lead would reach 15 points in the first and Wartburg led 41-26 at halftime as the Knights made seven first half three-pointers
• The shots continued to fall in the second half for Wartburg, who made the first eight attempts from three-point range
• The lead swelled to over 30 points for the Iowa Conference Champions who led by as many as 35
• Benedictine attempted to mount a comeback late in the game, utilizing a mini run to pull within 87-66 with 3:18 to play
• Wartburg milked the clock and scored the final five points of the game to end the season
• Benedictine has yet to win a first round game in the tournament in school history
• The defeat ended the career of five seniors who put the program on the national map and won three conference titles
STAT LEADERS
• Wartburg made 16 three-pointers and shot 76.5 percent in the second half, finishing the game as the first opponent to better 50 percent at 56.9 percent
• Benedictine corralled 17 offensive rebounds but were outrebounded 39-37
• Benedictine shot a season low 35.7 percent
• Tahron Harvey finished with 22 points and nine rebounds
• Olson tallied 17 while Blaszczyk finished with 11, moving into fifth place on the all-time scoring list
RECORD
Benedictine closes the season with a 23-5 record