Benedictine Clips Men's Basketball

LISLE, Ill. – The CUW men's basketball team fell Friday at Benedictine with a final score of 59-69. With the loss, the Falcons fall to 5-9 overall and 5-4 in conference play.

The opening minutes of the first half set the stage for a back-and-forth battle between the Falcons and Eagles. The score would be deadlocked at 9-9 with 16:00 left in the first half, courtesy of a jump shot from senior Samuel Meerstein (Green Bay, Wis.).

Less than two minutes later, the Falcons would secure the lead after junior Jonah Jurss (Sheboygan, Wis.) hit a triple to put the Falcons up 15-13.

However, the Eagles would retaliate with a triple of their own to recapture the lead before CUW senior Freeman Jackson (Green Bay, Wis.) and his layup would swing the advantage back in the favor of Concordia at 17-16 with 9:20 remaining in the half.

But Benedictine would briefly seize the lead once again. However, for the second time in the half, a triple from Jonah Jurss on a pass from Samuel Meerstein handed CUW the two-point advantage, prompting an Eagle timeout with 7:51 left in the half.

As the half progressed and the score knotted at 20-20, junior Adam Bruins (Oak Creek, Wis.) gave Concordia the narrow two-point lead on a dish from senior Zech Hans (Hartland, Wis.).

But once again, the Eagles would eventually tie the score.

With 5:45 left in the half, Zech Hans drained a corner three on a kick-out pass from senior Gabe Pruss (North Fond du Lac, Wis.) to give the Blue and White a three-point lead.

Despite Benedictine leveling the score at 27-27 with a timely three-pointer, a Freeman Jackson free throw, and a defensive stop paved the way for Adam Bruins to reclaim a 30-27 lead for CUW with a strong baseline drive and finish.

Despite CUW's lead, the Eagles strung together a 7-0 run to take the 34-30 lead over Concordia heading into the half.

In total, the first half saw eight lead changes and five ties.

Following the break, Benedictine established a nine-point lead at 40-31.

But the Falcons remained persistent and went on a 5-0 run courtesy of a Gabe Pruss layup and a Samuel Meerstein three-point play to shrink BU's lead to four, 40-36, with 16:48 remaining.

Later in the half, as the Falcons trailed four, freshman Matt Merlo (Radom Lake, Wis.) scored back-to-back layups to cut the lead to two, 42-40.

However, Benedictine responded timely with a triple, reclaiming a five-point advantage with 14:14 left on the clock.

In a determined effort, the Falcons rallied after a timeout, executing a 4-0 run. Samuel Meerstein converted on two free throw attempts, and a layup from Gabe Pruss, on an assist from Matt Merlo, shaved the Eagle's lead to just one, 45-44.

However, the Eagles widened their lead to 11 with 9:37 remaining.

Later, at the 5:20 mark, the Falcons found themselves down 15. Determined to make a comeback, Matt Merlo got to the hoop and scored two to shrink the Benedictine lead to 13, 51-64.

Freshman Isaac Seidel (Wausau, Wis.) found Matt Merlo down low, who would finish the layup, despite being fouled and complete the three-point play with a successful free throw with 4:16 left.

Then, with 3:30 left, Samuel Meertsein made two free throws to bring the score to 56-68 in advantage of Benedictine.

Despite CUW's best efforts to make a comeback, the Falcons could not bridge the gap and fell 59-69.

In the loss, Samuel Meertsein recorded his second double-double of the season, contributing 16 points and 10 rebounds.

On the defensive front, Gabe Pruss recorded one block and a team-high two steals. Sophomore Jack Fritz (Columbus, Wis.) also had a block.

The Blue and White will look to return to the win column on Saturday, Jan. 13th, when the Falcons will host the 3-12 Scarlet Hawks of Illinois Tech.