LISLE, IL - The Benedictine University men's basketball team shot 54 percent in the second half to rid themselves of Illinois Tech and claim a fifth straight win while remaining unbeaten at home.

FINAL SCORE
Benedictine 59, Illinois Tech 53

THE DETAILS
• Benedictine spent most of the first half playing from behind as Illinois Tech knocked down a three on the opening possession of the game and led all the way until a three-pointer from Kyle Graebner tied the game at 9-9 with 12:59 left in the half
• Illinois Tech quickly grabbed the lead again, opening a 17-11 lead with 9:24 remaining in the first
• Kyle Graebner knocked down a triple as part of a 9-0 run that enabled Benedictine to lead for the first time on a three-point play from Eric Grygo at the 7:02 mark
• The contest was back-and-forth the rest of the half with Illinois Tech taking a 28-25 lead into the half on a dunk as time expired
• The visitors came out strong to start the second half, hitting on all cylinders to lead 37-30
• Keegan Graebner, Nick Kosich and Grygo promptly tallied the next seven points to tie the game
• Benedictine led by five points on three occasions but Illinois Tech came back to tie the game at 53 on a three with 2:12 to play
• Kosich proceeded to answer for Benedictine and the team held Illinois Tech scoreless the rest of the way, knocking down four free throws to record the season sweep

STAT LEADERS
• The contest featured five ties and nine lead changes
• The starters played most of the game with just three reserves entering for a total of 33 minutes
• Benedictine shot 40.7 percent in the game and tallied 30 points in the paint
• Four players reached double figures led by Grygo, who logged 14 with nine rebounds
• Kosich scored 13, all in the second half, while Keegan Graebner posted 12 and Kyle Graebner 11

UP NEXT
Benedictine (15-3, 11-2 NACC) remains in a tie with Wisconsin Lutheran atop the conference standings heading into a road game at Marian on Saturday afternoon.