LISLE, Ill. - The second-ranked Benedictine University men's basketball team put away a hot-shooting Marian University squad to reach the NACC Tournament Championship.

FINAL SCORE
Benedictine 91, Marian 82

THE DETAILS
• Benedictine scored the first four points of the contest after a slow start from both squads
• Marian came back to lead for a bulk of the first half, using consecutive three-pointers to open a 19-12 advantage with 10:37 left in the half
• The visitors led by nine points at 27-18 before a frantic late rally enabled Benedictine to jump ahead for the first time since early in the contest
• Michael Blaszczyk knocked down a three-pointer to tie the score at 33-33 with 4:14 to play in the first
• Adam Reynolds, returning after missing a pair of contests, hit a jumper with 2:55 remaining to give Benedictine a 38-37 lead
• Marian converted on a three-point play just before the half to lead 43-39, just the third time Benedictine has trailed at the break all season
• Marian quickly extended the margin to 49-41 less than three minutes into the second half
• John Dodson opened a 14-0 run with a jumper and a Tahron Harvey transition basket allowed Benedictine to nab a 50-49 lead
• Tim Reamer dropped home a layup with 13:07 left, capping the run and putting Benedictine ahead 55-49
• Marian did not lead again as Benedictine stretched the margin to 76-62 on a tip-in from Luke Johnson with just over four minutes to go
• Marian whittled the lead down to 86-82 in the final minute, but Benedictine scored the final five points to lock up the victory

FROM THE COACH
"Congrats to Marian on a well played game and season. I thought they came out with a little more intensity than us and shot the ball well in the first half," head coach Keith Bunkenburg said. "We did not play with great pace and needed to pick it up on both ends of the floor. We did a better job of that in the second half. That was a great a win against a very good team that we hadn't seen in two months."

STAT LEADERS
• Benedictine logged 19 assists to break the single season conference record for helpers
• Harvey tied for a game-best by scoring 21 points as four players reached double digits
• Johnson picked up 20 points and added 17 rebounds for his 13th double-double but also notched five blocks to set the single season conference record
• Reamer logged his fourth consecutive double-figure game with 16 points off the bench while Dodson also tallied 13
• Marian made 10 three-pointers in the contest but cooled off after starting at nearly 60 percent from the field to finish at 50.8 percent
• Benedictine held a 42-27 advantage on the glass and shot nearly 54 percent in the second half to finish at 49.3 percent

UP NEXT
Benedictine (26-0) will face sixth-seeded MSOE at home on Sunday afternoon in a 2:00 p.m. contest for the NACC Tournament championship. Benedictine is seeking a second tournament title with the only other visit coming in 2011.