LISLE, IL - Debuting the all black uniforms, the Benedictine University men's basketball team settled down to pull away from visiting St. Norbert College and win the season opener.
FINAL SCORE
Benedictine 87, St. Norbert 79
THE DETAILS
• St. Norbert led for much of the first half
• The Green Knights used an 8-0 run to open an 18-10 lead at the 12:18 mark of the first half
• A three-point play on a second chance basket with 7:28 to go in the first enabled the lead to reach 11 points at 26-15
• Kyle Hornacek made the most of his first-half playing time, using a layup to ignite a 9-0 that brought Benedictine within 26-24 on a three-pointer from Mike Boatright
• Benedictine hit three consecutive threes to help the first half spurt
• Kyle Graebner splashed home a triple during a 15-0 run as Benedictine countered to lead 39-28 during an overall run of 24-2
• Boatright posted an electric steal and breakaway dunk during the run
• St. Norbert was able to battled within 42-36 at the half
• The visitors scored eight in a row in the game of runs to take the lead and hold the advantage until the final five minutes
• Nick Kosich connected on a three-pointer to put Benedictine ahead at 74-73 with 3:49 left
• Chris Hester posted a put back to against put Benedictine ahead and Kyle Graebner hit a three during a 7-0 run that put Benedictine ahead 81-75 with just 1:26 left
• Up two with the shot clock winding down, Kenny Bogus drained a three to stretch the lead to 84-79 and essentially seal the win as Benedictine finished the game with a 6-0 run
• St. Norbert won 19 games last season and was picked to win the Midwest Conference
STAT LEADERS
• Benedictine shot 57 percent from the field in the first half and finished the game at 52 percent, making 15 three-pointers
• St. Norbert held a 34-31 edge on the glass
• The game featured four ties and seven lead changes
• Five players reached double figures for Benedictine led by 15 from Bogus to go with eight rebounds and six assists
• Boatright and Kyle Graebner each scored 14 with Boatright adding seven boards and five assists
• Kosich and Hester scored 12 apiece in their Benedictine debuts
• 12 players saw the floor
UP NEXT
Benedictine (1-0) travels to Hope College in Michigan on Wednesday.