LISLE, Ill. - The seventh-ranked Benedictine University men's basketball team capped the non-conference schedule by holding off visiting Carthage College 82-78 on Wednesday night, improving to 11-0 on the season.

FINAL SCORE
Benedictine 82, Carthage 78

THE DETAILS
• Benedictine held control of the game early, scoring the first four points and holding a lead of 18-12 just past the mid-point of the first half
• Carthage evened the game on a three-point play with 5:12 left in the first at 25-25 and held brief leads at 28-27 and 30-29
• Benedictine led 38-35 at the break
• The visitors quickly tied the game to open the second half and led 49-45 with 15:23 to play
• Five consecutive points handed Benedictine a 53-51 advantage when Michael Blaszczyk hit a jumper at the 13:20 mark
• With the game even at 53, Benedictine used a run of 8-1 to hold a 61-54 edge
• Adam Reynolds opened the run with a jumper and a Tim Reamer free throw finished it with 10:23 left
• The lead would extend to double figures following a free throw from Reynolds, making the score 66-56 with 8:22 remaining
• Benedictine led by as many as 12 points and was up 10 with 4:28 to play but Carthage did not go away, scrapping within two points late
• The contest saw five ties and six lead changes
• Benedictine has scored more than 80 points in eight of the 11 games this season
• All five non-conference games this season came against the CCIW with all five producing wins (@Illinois Wesleyan, vs. Wheaton, @Elmhurst, @North Central, vs. Carthage)

FROM THE COACH
"I thought we showed great resilience before another strong crowd against a team that gave us their best shot," head coach Keith Bunkenburg said. "It was not our best effort of the season and Carthage was the more aggressive team on the glass tonight, particularly in the first half. We have to play better as the conference schedule resumes this weekend."

STAT LEADERS
• Tahron Harvey backed up a career performance at North Central last week by leading Benedictine with 19 points including 12 in the second half
• Blaszczyk and John Dodson each added 16 points with Reynold and Reamer netting nine each
• Carthage grabbed 13 offensive rebounds but Benedictine held a 43-36 edge on the glass with Reynolds tallying nine
• The contest featured a combined 57 free throws with Benedictine hitting 21-of-29
• Both team shot under 25 percent from three-point range with Carthage making seven while limiting Benedictine to a season low matching three
• Benedictine finished the game shooting 49.2 percent while limiting Carthage to just 38.8 percent for the contest

UP NEXT
• Benedictine (11-0) heads on the road to face Concordia Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
• Concordia Wisconsin ended Benedictine's season last year in the conference tournament and was selected as the preseason favorite in the NACC