LISLE, Ill. (WLCSports.com) - Benedictine shot 55.6 percent in the second half to hand Wisconsin Lutheran College its second Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference loss of the season on Saturday, 76-73, at the Dan and Ada Rice Center.
The Warriors (14-4, 9-2 NACC) held the lead for nearly 30 minutes, before the Eagles (10-7, 7-3 NACC) took the lead with eight-and-a-half minutes left and never trailed.
WLC jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the early minutes behind three-pointers from seniors
Grayson Goetz (Aurora, Ill.) and
Jacob Hefle (Germantown, Wis.). Both teams traded baskets and Wisconsin Lutheran worked up to an 18-8 lead with 10:46 left in the half. BenU answered with an 8-0 run, cutting the Warriors' lead to two. Junior
Nathaniel Luebke (Valders, Wis.) ended the run for WLC with a layup and Hefle knocked down another three on the next possession to extend the lead back to seven with 7:10 remaining. Wisconsin Lutheran and Benedictine continued to exchange baskets and Goetz hit a layup with 3:04 left in the half to give the Warriors a 35-23 lead, their largest of the game. BenU went on a 9-3 run to close out the half and WLC led 38-32 at halftime.
Senior
Ryan Broeckel (Chilton, Wis) opened the second half with a bucket and both teams continued to exchange scores. The Eagles were able to trim the Warriors' lead down to one at the 14:18 mark, but a pair of Broeckel free throws seconds later pushed the lead back to three. BenU took its first lead of the game, 60-59, with 8:30 left in the game, and extended it to five, but free throws from freshman
Dom Hill (Waukesha, Wis.) and Hefle cut the deficit to two with 5:42 remaining. The Warriors came within one multiple times down the stretch and senior
Jacob Stoltz (Kewaskum, Wis) had a last-second three-point attempt to send the game to overtime, but it fell short.
Goetz was one of four Warriors in double figures, leading the team with 19 points, four rebounds, four assists, and a game-high four steals. Hefle added 15 points and six rebounds. Broeckel had 11 points and four rebounds, while Stoltz chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds. WLC shot 39.7 percent (25-for-63) from the field and 75 percent (15-for-20) from the free throw line.
Drew Stokes scored a game high 22 points on 7-for-10 shooting for Benedictine, which shot 44.8 percent (26-for-58) from the field.
The Warriors return home to the Time of Grace Center on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. NACC matchup with Concordia Chicago (9-8, 6-6 NACC). Live coverage links will be available at WLCSports.com.
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