Central Methodist (14-9, 7-4) at #20 Benedictine (15-6, 8-3)
Saturday, February 8 - 4 p.m. CT
Atchison, Kan. - Ralph Nolan Gymnasium
Live Video, Audio, Stats: CMUEagles.com
Twitter:�@cmueagles
FAYETTE, Mo. - Coming off its biggest win of the season Thursday in overtime at No. 8 Evangel (Mo.), Central Methodist puts its Heart of America Athletic Conference-leading seven-game win streak on the line Saturday at No. 20 Benedictine (Kan.). Tip-off for the second contest between the two squads this season is set for 4 p.m. CT.
Live video, audio, stats and Twitter updates will be available for the game.
Last Time Out: Central Methodist 87, Evangel 83 (OT); Avila 73, Benedictine 68
Last Meeting: Benedictine 70, Central Methodist 57 (Dec. 14, 2013 - Fayette, Mo.)
About the Eagles: A fourth-straight loss to open conference play on Jan. 9 and sixth defeat in eight games could certainly be looked at as the low point for Central Methodist. One month later, that loss to Culver-Stockton is a distant memory as the Eagles have won seven-straight games, including an overtime victory at Evangel on Thursday to move into third place and just two games out of first place. The Eagles have won with both offense and defense during the current stretch, but as important has been the ability to pull out close games. Five of the seven wins have been by eight points or less after having lost the previous three games decided by four points or fewer. The Eagles have continued to rely on the three-point shot and have connected on 10.4 while shooting 46.2 percent from beyond the arc. Those numbers will be tested on Saturday as the Eagles face a team that holds opponents to 34.1 percent from three-point range and limited Central Methodist to 8-of-30 from distance in the first meeting.�
About the Ravens: On the opposite end of the momentum spectrum, Benedictine comes into Saturday's game on the back of consecutive losses following four-straight wins that pushed the Ravens to the top of the conference standings and the top 10 of the NAIA Coaches' Poll. The Ravens were held under 70 points in both losses, a point total that can be attributed to six three-pointers in each contest after averaging over eight per game heading into last week's games. Benedictine was also outshot at the free throw line in both losses, including a 31-15 deficit in the first loss to Peru State. Defense was the key for the Ravens in the first meeting with the Eagles, holding the hosts to 33.9 percent shooting from the field while scoring 16 points in transition and 14 off turnovers. Benedictine needs to find a way to get off to a good start after trailing at halftime in each of the last two losses following holding a halftime lead in the four-game winning streak prior to those losses.
Free Throws: Central Methodist is #5 in the NAIA in three-point field goals per game (9.3) and #6 in both assist/turnover ratio (1.32) and three-point field goal percentage (.394) ... Benedictine is #2 in the NAIA in three-point field goal percentage (.429) and #10 in field goal percentage (.488) ... Eagles G Cody Anderson tallied a career-high 16 points in Thursday night's win over Evangel ... Ravens G John Harris Jr. scored a season-high 20 points against Central Methodist in the season's first meeting between the teams.
| Team Matchup | BC | CMU |
| Current Record | 15 - 6 | 14 - 9 |
| Scoring | 1601 | 1815 |
| Points Per Game | 76.238 | 78.913 |
| Scoring Margin | 6.619 | 5.957 |
| Field Goals | 547 | 650 |
| Field Goal Percentage | 0.488 | 0.474 |
| 3-pt FG | 170 | 214 |
| 3-point FG Percent | 0.429 | 0.394 |
| 3-point FG made per game | 8.095 | 9.304 |
| Free Throws | 337 | 301 |
| Free throw pct | 0.709 | 0.705 |
| Rebounds | 726 | 803 |
| Rebounds per game | 34.571 | 34.913 |
| Rebounding Margin | 3.333 | 0.261 |
| Assists | 248 | 354 |
| Assists per game | 11.810 | 15.391 |
| Turnovers | 279 | 268 |
| Turnovers per game | 13.286 | 11.652 |
| Turnover margin | -1.238 | 0.696 |
| Assist/Turnover Ratio | 0.889 | 1.321 |
| Steals | 117 | 125 |
| Steals per game | 5.571 | 5.435 |
| Blocks | 74 | 53 |
| Blocks per game | 3.524 | 2.304 |
