LISLE, Ill. - The Benedictine University men's basketball team opened the season in grand fashion, upsetting fourth ranked Illinois Wesleyan 61-60 at home on Saturday night.

"What a great win for our program," head coach Keith Bunkenburg said. "It is always good to get off to a strong start to the season. I thought our kids gave a great effort defensively and I am really proud of the way they played tonight."

Tahron Harvey nailed a three-pointer with 17:12 to play in the first half to hand Benedictine a 3-2 lead. The Eagles went on to lead by five at 9-4 when Tim Reamer dropped home a layup at the 15:14 mark. Illinois Wesleyan came back to even the score on a triple with 11:33 left. Benedictine responded with a 10-2 run top open the largest lead of the contest at 24-16 with 8:09 remaining. Adam Reynolds capped the run with three consecutive points.

The lead held at eight points as Reamer split a pair of free throws with 2:04 left. Illinois Wesleyan scored the final six points of the half, capped by three free throws in the final second, to trail 31-29 at the intermission. The visitors hit just 39.3 percent of their first half attempts and finished just 2-for-12 from three-point range. Benedictine started off shooting over 60 percent and finished the opening 20 minutes at 47.8 percent.

Illinois Wesleyan, a Final Four team out of the CCIW last season, tied the contest on the opening possession of the second, setting the stage for a frantic second half which featured four ties and 12 lead changes. Benedictine led by three when Harvey dropped home a layup with 15:16 to play in the contest. The visitors netted six of the next seven points to move ahead at 41-39 with an even 14 minutes left.

Kevin Rollins finished a layup with 10:16 remaining to again put Benedictine, picked to finish third in the NACC preseason poll, ahead by three points at 46-43. Illinois Wesleyan utilized a 9-1 run to nab a 52-47 edge with 7:47 to go. Baskets from Mack Brown and John Dodson clawed Benedictine to within 52-51 with 6:49 remaining. Down three at 54-51, Benedictine ripped off six consecutive points capped by an electric dunk off a rebound by Reynolds to lead 57-54 at the 2:42 mark, but Illinois Wesleyan hit a quick three to even the score.

With 1:48 left, Dodson flipped in a layup to put Benedictine ahead at 59-57, but another three handed Illinois Wesleyan a 60-59 edge. Reynolds produced the game winning shot with just over a minute reamining. Illinois Wesleyan missed three attempts to win the game including two in the final seconds following a Benedictine miss.

Harvey led Benedictine with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Michael Blaszczyk and Brown finished with 10 each. Benedictine held a 37-34 edge on the glass with Blaszczyk nabbing a game high eight. For the contest, the Eagles shot 46.9 percent while holding the Titans to just 39 percent. The game featured five ties and 13 lead changes.

"We had a great crowd tonight, especially with the student turnout," Bunkenburg said. "Hopefully that will continue. I want to thank everyone who came to the game and I am proud that we were able to win one for Benedictine."

Benedictine (1-0) travels to MSOE next Saturday afternoon for a 4:00 p.m. contest.