LISLE, IL - The sixth-ranked Benedictine University men's basketball team faced a second straight nationally ranked team, dropping a 72-69 decision to visiting North Central College.

FINAL SCORE
North Central 72, Benedictine 69

THE DETAILS
• The lead changed frequently early
• Neither team held larger than a three-point advantage in the first 12 minutes and the contest was a single possession game entering the final five minutes of the first
• North Central used an 11-0 run to grab a 12-point lead at 41-29 with 2:29 to play in the half
• Benedictine scored the final six points of the half on three-pointers from Shawn Soelter and Brayden Olson, slicing the deficit to 42-36 at the half
• North Central quickly swelled the advantage to 13 points at 52-39 with 16:16 left in the game
• Down 10 at the 11:39 marker, Benedictine used a run of 11-2 to claw within a single point at 58-57
• Michael Blaszczyk scored the first six points of the run while Adam Reynolds notched the final three from the free throw line
• Five consecutive points from North Central All-American Alex Sorenson provided some distance
• Zach Gorney completed a three-point play and Tahron Harvey dropped in a layup to bring Benedictine within 63-62 with 2:49 left
• Five more from Sorenson pushed the lead back up to six points at 68-62
• Reynolds brought Benedictine within 68-67 with just over a minute to play, but Sorenson converted on a second chance basket to again make the lead three points
• Harvey scored on a layup with 13 seconds remaining, but two free throws sealed the victory
• The loss marked the first time that Benedictine has dropped back-to-back contests since late January, 2015
• The game featured four ties and 11 lead changes, all in the first half

STAT LEADERS
• Benedictine shot 43.1 percent for the game and scored 24 points off turnovers while adding 19 second chance points
• North Central held a 40-34 edge on the glass, the first time Benedictine has been outrebounded this year
• Reynolds paced Benedictine with 18 points and added eight boards along with five assists
• Blasczyk and Harvey each tallied 12 with Harvey utilizing eight rebounds and four assists
• Olson finished with nine, knocking down three treys

UP NEXT
Benedictine (1-2) hosts #21 UW-Oshkosh at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday afternoon