Briar Cliff men’s basketball fell on the road to #18 Benedictine 90-76 Saturday night in Atchison, Kansas. Despite shooting 58% from the field, the Chargers couldn’t overcome 48 points in the paint and 68.6% field goal shooting from the Ravens.
Briar Cliff struggled to contain the Benedictine offense in the first half, as the Ravens scored 49 points and went 20-for-28 from the field and converted 5-of-6 from deep. The Chargers were also efficient in the first 20 minutes, shooting 58.3% from the floor and hit four treys.
Benedictine held an 11 point advantage six minutes into the contest, but a 7-0 Charger run cut their lead to 18-14. That would be the closest the Chargers would get to the Ravens lead as they answered with an 8-0 run to take a 12 point lead. Benedictine took a 49-34 lead into halftime.
Benedictine extended their lead to 23 points halfway through the second half. An 11-0 run from the Cliff brought the Chargers within 12 points of the Raven lead. The two teams traded baskets the rest of the way as Benedictine held onto to win by 14.
Kyle Boerhave led the Cliff in scoring with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting to go with four rebounds and three assists. Conner Groves added 20 points and knocked down six treys on nine attempts. Jaden Kleinhesselink chipped in 15 points going 5-for-7 from the floor.
Matt Austin had a game high 26 points going 11-for-18 from the field and connecting on four 3-pointers. Austin tallied five boards and three assists. Eric Krus added 13 points and three rebounds. Jaiden Bristol dished out six assists.
The Chargers hit more 3-pointers 9-7 and turned it over less 10-14. Benedictine held the edge in rebounds 28-12, points in the paint 48-32 and second chance points 11-4.
The Chargers will have a week to prepare before facing off against another ranked opponent in #9 Indiana Wesleyan. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. in Marian, Indiana between the Chargers and Wildcats.
