PERU, Neb. – After trailing at the half, the No. 7-ranked Benedictine men’s basketball team scored 38 second-half points en route to a come-from-behind win over Peru State College on Thursday to split the regular-season match up with the Bobcats.

Leading by two points with five seconds remaining, John Harris Jr., went to the line for Benedictine (19-3, 8-2 Heart) and converted two free throws to push the Ravens ahead of Peru State (12-9, 5-5 Heart) by four points – which proved to be the final margin as a last-second attempt by the Bobcats fell short handing Benedictine the 63-59 win.

The difference in the first half proved to come at the free throw line as neither team was able to pull ahead by more than two possessions.

The first half alone played through five ties and seven lead changes before Peru State took a 26-25 lead into halftime.

The Bobcats went 6 of 6 at the charity stripe in the first half while the Ravens connected on 4 of 6.

Benedictine held Peru State scoreless for nearly four minutes to start the second half, which allowed the Ravens to erase their halftime deficit and push ahead by six points, 34-28.

The Ravens continued push their lead, eventually pulling ahead by 10 points on three occasions before the Bobcats used a 7-0 run to pull within three points with just under eight minutes left in the game.

After back-to-back baskets from Connor Fleming and Brett Fisher, the Ravens pushed their lead back to eight points only to have Peru State answer to pull back within a possession setting up a tightly-contested stretch run for both teams.

Jallen Messersmith led the Ravens with 20 points, setting a new career high by five points. Fleming finished with 10 points while Jonathan Anaekwe added 10 points.

Benedictine hosts Avila University at 4 p.m. Saturday inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium. The Ravens took the first meeting over the Eagles in Kansas City, Mo., back on Dec. 6, 59-52.

— BC Sports Information —