Last-Second Free Throws Doom Men's Basketball In Lisle

LISLE, Ill. (WLCSports.com) - Senior Simeon Strauss (Chicago, Ill.) scored a career-high 31 points off the bench, but Benedictine's Andrew Stokes spoiled the night by making two free throws with 0.3 seconds left to hand Wisconsin Lutheran College a heartbreaking 84-83 loss on Tuesday at the Dan and Ada Rice Center.

The Warriors (3-5, 1-2 NACC) jumped out to an 8-3 lead over the Eagles (4-5, 2-1 NACC) less than five minutes into the game after a layup from junior Ryan Broeckel (Chilton, Wis.), forcing BenU to call timeout. WLC led by nine points at the 11:35 mark and built a game-high 10-point lead at 34-24 following a Strauss three with 3:33 left before halftime.

Benedictine responded with a 10-0 scoring run to tie the score for the third time in the half. Wisconsin Lutheran carried a slim two-point lead at 38-36 into halftime following a last-second layup from freshman Ephraim Albers (Reedsburg, Wis.).

The Eagles took their first lead of the second half at 46-44 with 16:34 showing on the clock. It would be the second of 11 lead changes in the final 20 minutes alone. Neither team held more than a two-point lead until the 10:18 mark when BenU used a 9-0 run to take an eight-point lead with 8:59 left. Benedictine extended its lead to a game-high nine points twice, including the later with 2:54 remaining.

Trailing by eight with 1:54 left, the Warriors rattled off a 9-0 scoring run to take an 83-82 lead after a pair of clutch free throws from Strauss with just 1.3 seconds to play. The Eagles executed a full court inbounds pass, drew a foul with 0.3 seconds left on the clock, and made both free throws to steal the win from WLC.

Strauss scored a career-high 31 points on 9-for-12 shooting to lead four from Wisconsin Lutheran in double figures. He went 5-for-7 from long distance and a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Senior Trevor Stiede (Pulaski, Wis.) added 13 points off the bench on a trio of three-pointers. Broeckel finished with 12 points and junior Grayson Goetz (Aurora, Ill.) tallied 11 points and six assists.

The Warriors shot 47.5 percent (29-for-61) from the floor and a season-high 93.3 percent (14-for-15) from the free throw line.

Marvin Agwomoh paced four players in double figures with 21 points for the Eagles, who shot 50 percent (31-for-62) from the floor and out-scored WLC 48-30 in the paint.

Wisconsin Lutheran remains on the road Saturday for a 2 p.m. NACC matchup against Dominican (4-4, 0-3 NACC) in River Forest, Illinois. Live coverage links will be available for the game at WLCSports.com.