LISLE, Ill. - The third-ranked Benedictine University men's basketball team overcame eight first half three-pointers from visiting Lakeland College to improve to 20-0 on the season.

FINAL SCORE
Benedictine 87, Lakeland 62

THE DETAILS
• Benedictine scored the first five points of the contest and led 8-3 just over two minutes into the contest
• Lakeland hit three consecutive three-pointers to open a 12-8 lead with 15:50 remaining in the first half
• Luke Johnson opened a 10-0 run with a jumper as Benedictine responded to take an 18-12 edge
• Lakeland led just once more at 19-18 before Tim Reamer kicked off a 7-0 run to put Benedictine ahead for good
• Michael Blaszczyk drained a three-pointer with 2:27 to play, putting Benedictine ahead 39-29 and the lead was 39-31 at halftime
• Lakeland pulled within six early in the second half before a free throw from Johnson again pushed the lead to double figures with 15 minutes left
• Blaszczyk capped a 5-0 spurt to extend the advantage to 56-41 with 12:44 remaining and Benedictine limited the visitors down the stretch to balloon the lead

FROM THE COACH
"We put together a great effort today that translated into outrebounding Lakeland by almost 30," head coach Keith Bunkenburg said. "I am proud of the team for a great win. The bench played really well and we took care of the ball. We need to keep grinding down the home stretch."

STAT LEADERS
• Reamer led all scorers with 19 points and added 11 rebounds
• The 19 points matched a career high as Reamer was one of five to score in double figures
• Tahron Harvey added 16 with six assists while Blaszczyk notched 14
• Adam Reynolds collected 12 points and 10 rebounds with John Dodson notching 11
• Benedictine limited Lakeland to just 31.5 percent shooting despite hitting eight threes in the first half
• Benedictine finished the game shooting 44.9 percent and held a commanding 61-32 advantage on the glass
• Johnson finished with nine points and 10 boards along with six assists and four blocks
• Benedictine blocked 11 shots in the game, tallied 19 assists, and scored 44 points in the paint

UP NEXT
Benedictine (20-0, 15-0 NACC) travels to rival Aurora on Wednesday night with a chance to virtually clinch the conference title