LISLE, Ill. - The second-ranked Benedictine University men's basketball team reached unprecedented heights by advancing to the program's first ever Final Four after shooting past Alma College at home in the Sectional Final.

FINAL SCORE
Benedictine 93, Alma 73

THE DETAILS
• Benedictine trailed just once in the contest, at 3-2
• Consecutive three-pointers from Luke Johnson and Tahron Harvey were the opening part of an 8-0 run that enabled Benedictine to grab a 10-3 lead
• Alma worked to within 13-9 before Matt Chaltin drained a three-pointer to ignite a 13-0 run
• Brayden Olson followed an Alma miss with a three to push the lead to 19-9 with 10:23 left in the opening half
• Chaltin completed the run with a layup that made the score 26-9 with 8:26 to play in the first
• A three-point play from Alma made the score 31-20 with 5:43 remaining but a layup from Adam Reynolds commenced another 8-0 run, building the lead to 39-20 following another three from Olson at the 2:42 mark
• Benedictine led by 21 twice in the final 1:18 and held a 44-25 advantage at the break
• Michael Blaszczyk drained three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to extend the lead to 66-37 with 12:55 left
• Alma used little runs to slowly whittle the advantage but could pull no closer than 87-71 with 1:34 remaining in the game
• Benedictine held the lead for 38:49 of the game

STAT LEADERS
• Benedictine finished the game shooting 56.1 percent from the floor, making 17 three-pointers on 24 attempts
• Benedictine, the top rebounding team in the nation, held a 41-29 advantage on the glass
• Alma scored more points in the paint, using a 34-26 edge
• Blaszczyk made six triples and finished with 20 points
• Harvey tallied 16 points with Johnson notching 15 points and 14 rebounds
• Olson came off the bench to match a career best with 12 points

UP NEXT
Benedictine (30-0) is the first unbeaten team to reach championship weekend since 1999. Amherst College will be the opponent at the Salem Civic Center on Friday night at 4:00 p.m.