Posted: Feb 28, 2016
Atchison, Kan. The Central Methodist University men's basketball team closed out the regular season portion of their schedule on Saturday afternoon, with a 75-73 defeat to Benedictine College. The Eagles will enter the Heart of America Athletic Conference postseason tournament as the seventh seed.
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With the loss, the Eagles fall to 15-15 overall and 9-13 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play. With the victory, the Benedictine College improves to 15-13 overall and 9-13 in The Heart. The Ravens secured the sixth seed in the postseason tournament with their victory.
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The hometown Ravens led the charge for most of the first half on Saturday and took a slim 37-33 lead into halftime. Benedictine shot 53% from the floor in the first half, but shot just 38% from beyond the three-point arc and did not attempt a single free-throw. CMU on the other hand, shot 43% from the field and struggled behind the three-point arc, converting on just two of their nine attempts. The Eagles finished the first half 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.
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Central Methodist came on strong in the second half and outscored Benedictine College 40-38, but faltered in the last few minutes to drop the regular season finale 75-73. CMU as a team shot 48% from the field in the second half and made 13 of their 16 free-throw attempts.
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Five Eagles finished in double-figure scoring in the loss, with Ron Lee (Oak Park, Calif.) leading the way with 19 points in 34 minutes of action. Jay Jones (Hannibal, Mo.) and Scott Stegeman (Jefferson City, Mo.) both finished with 11 points apiece.
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The Eagles will host an opening round game in the Heart of America Athletic Conference postseason tournament this Monday at 7pm inside of Puckett Field House. CMU welcomes Grand View University to Fayette. CMU is 1-1 against the Vikings this year, with the home team winning each contest.
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For more information about Central Methodist University athletics, visit http://www.cmueagles.com. Follow CMU athletics on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cmathletics and on Twitter twitter.com/cmueagles. �������
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