First half lead doesn't hold in Pride 70-59 loss to Benedictine
DUBUQUE, Iowa - Capping off their winter break schedule with one final home game, the Clarke University men's basketball team fell to Benedictine College by a final score of 70-59 in the Kehl Center on Saturday afternoon.
A strong defensive first half for the Pride carried the home team to an early advantage that grew to as many as nine points at 22-13 with just over four minutes to go in the first half before entering the break up by four points at 30-26.
In that first half, the CU defense forced the Ravens to shoot just 7-for-28 (25%) from the field and 2-for-12 (16.7%) from deep with 10 of the team's 26 points coming from the free throw line while they also committed seven turnovers that would lead to nine of Clarke's 30 points in the first.
The Ravens started the second half on a 13-3 run to take a six-point lead over the first four minutes of the frame to slowly but surely grow that lead to its largest of the game to 14 points with just over six minutes remaining and never look back to their double digit win.
Not much differed for the Pride offensively between the two halves, as they scored 29 points in the second after the 30-point first half, but Benedictine would make enough adjustments to boost their efficiency to a 14-for-24 (58.3%) mark in the final 20 minutes while taking 15 more free throws than CU in the second half, hitting 14 of their 18 attempts, while Clarke went just 1-for-3.
It was a balanced offensive effort for the Ravens with nine different members of the team making a shot from the field, all of those players having at least four points in the game led by a trio in double figures with Deaglan Sullivan scoring 15, Drew Purdy providing 12 off the bench, and Jack Vander Woude adding 11.
Clarke had two players in double figures led by 18 from Lovre Stanovic, who had 13 of those 18 in a strong first half, while Desmond Jones added 13 points, 11 of which came in the second half for the sophomore who provided 23 solid bench minutes for CU.
Pride men's basketball will be on the road for three of their next four, starting next Saturday when they travel to Fulton, Mo. for their first Heart of America Athletic Conference matchup against William Woods University in the Owls first year in the Heart with a 2:00 p.m. CT scheduled top on Jan. 17.