Box Score LISLE, Ill. – With the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference standings so tight in the middle of the pack, every game counts down the stretch. Edgewood College was looking to earn their third straight win but fell to Benedictine University 71-66 on Thursday night to slip to 9-8 in the NACC and currently sits in sixth place.

After opening the game trading baskets, Edgewood College (11-12, 9-9 NACC) took the reins and climbed ahead by 10 after eight straight points by Joe Klocek. Following a timeout, Benedictine's Tim McGinty knocked down a pair of free throws and added a triple to cut Edgewood College's lead to five, but two more points by Klocek put the lead back to seven. Benedictine knocked down a jumper with 34 seconds left in the half but Matt Savatski drilled a three-pointer to make the score 35-29 in favor of Edgewood College at the break.

Benedictine hit a triple out of the locker room and after missing their next four shots, converted eight straight baskets without a miss over the next seven minutes to evaporate the deficit and build a five-point advantage. Justin Williams tied the ball game at 55-55 with a layup at the 5:57 mark, but a quick 9-0 run had Benedictine (12-11, 9-8 NACC) up 64-55 with just over three minutes to play. Williams and Savatski combined for three free throws and Brett Meinecke scored back-to-back layups, but an Edgewood College foul put Benedictine on the line up two. From there, Michael Blaszczyk went 7-for-8 at the line in the final 32 seconds, sealing the Edgewood College loss.

Edgewood College shot 53.8 percent in the first half to build a lead, but Benedictine converted 60 percent after halftime in the win. Edgewood College only saw the free throw line seven times, hitting six of those attempts.

Klocek led four Eagles in double figures with 18 while hitting a career-high four three-pointers. Meinecke and Rusch added 11 while Williams chipped in 10 and a team-high five rebounds.

Edgewood College will finish the season with a pair of games against two of the NACC's top four teams. The Eagles will head to Aurora on Saturday to try and upset the Spartans and improve their conference standing. Live stats and live video will be provided.