On Saturday afternoon, the Benedictine Mesa Men's Basketball Team faced a tough challenge against The Master's, ultimately falling with a final score of 58-70.
The game began with The Master's taking an early lead, highlighted by a layup from Kendall Moore just 19 seconds into the contest. Kaleb Lowery quickly added a three-pointer, pushing the score to 5-0. Despite Benedictine's efforts to regain momentum, Lowery continued, scoring another layup to extend The Master's lead to 9-2.
Damian Zivak managed to put Benedictine on the board with a free throw, but The Master's offense was relentless.
Benedictine struggled to find their offensive rhythm, missing several key shots. Zivak did score a layup at the 13:34 mark, bringing the score to 17-4. As the half progressed, both teams exchanged missed opportunities, but The Master's maintained a comfortable lead, reaching 19 points with another layup at 9:40. Despite attempts from Zivak, including free throws and a three-pointer, The Master's continued to pull ahead.
As the half wound down, both teams called timeouts to regroup. However, The Master's held a commanding 32-18 advantage at halftime, against Benedictine's attempts to close the gap.
In the second half, Benedictine faced another challenge as The Master's established a strong start. An early basket from Lowery, gave The Master's an early boost.
Tanner Crawford made significant contributions in the paint, to help Benedictine fight back.
Despite determined efforts from
Malik Payton and
Deven Franks, who combined for several key baskets, including a solid three-pointer from
Malakai Harris, The Master's responded consistently with points. Both teams battled through turnovers and missed opportunities, but The Master's defense proved to be a significant hurdle. Although Zivak made a late push with a flurry of layups, the team ultimately fell short.
Despite the loss, several players stood out for Benedictine:
Looking ahead, the Redhawks are set to return to action on Wednesday, February 12, as they take on OUAZ on the road. The team will look to regroup and improve upon their performance in this challenging matchup.
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