LISLE, IL - The Benedictine University men's basketball team dropped the home opener to visiting Hope College as the team continued a difficult non-conference schedule.

FINAL SCORE
Hope 72, Benedictine 63

THE DETAILS
• Hope led for most of the game
• Trevor Montiel connected on a three-pointer with 7:20 left in the first half to tie the game at 16
• Nick Kosich made a pair of free throws to put Benedictine ahead 18-16, the first lead since the opening basket
• Michael Johnson hit a jumper with 6:02 to go in the first that put Benedictine ahead 20-18, but Hope hit consecutive threes to again gain the edge
• Zach Derus tied the game at 32-32 with 1:39 left in the half and a free throw from Marvin Agwomoh put Benedictine ahead 33-32 in the final minute before a layup in the closing seconds put Hope ahead 34-33 at the break
• Hope opened the second half with a 10-2 run to grab a 44-35 lead less than three minutes into the second half
• The advantage swelled to 12 points with five straight from Hope
• Montiel hit a three and Agwomoh scored in the paint as Benedictine drew within 49-42 with 10:42 remaining but Hope was again able to counter and led by as many as 16 points in the second to pull away
• The contest featured five ties and five lead changes

STAT LEADERS
• Benedictine shot just 34 percent from the floor while posting 32 points in the paint and 17 off turnovers
• Benedictine held a 41-38 edge on the glass with 17 offensive rebounds but managed just nine second chance points
• Agwomoh paced Benedictine with 21 points, adding 11 rebounds
• Montiel also reached double figures with 11 points, adding seven rebounds
• Connor Riley dished six assists off the bench
• Nine different players scored

UP NEXT
Benedictine (1-3) hosts North Central on Tuesday night.