Fayette, Mo. - The Central Methodist men's basketball team fell in a tight contest to Benedictine College by a score of 71-66 Saturday afternoon inside Puckett Fieldhouse. 

The Eagles fall to 4-3 and 3-1 in the conference, while the Ravens improve to 7-2 and 4-1 in Heart play. 

Central jumped out in front quickly, taking a 28-18 lead over Benedictine in the first 10 minutes of the opening half. CMU would ultimately take a 43-33 lead into halftime. Highlighting the first half for the Eagles was junior forward Chandler Bevans, who poured in a game-high 23 points in the first 13 minutes of game action. 

After scoring the first two points of the second half, the Eagles' offense was outscored by Benedictine 18-6 throughout the next nine minutes, giving Benedectine their first lead of the game, 51-49. Central battled back after Benedictine stretched their lead to double-digits late in the game, and trailing with less than two minutes remaining, Bevans tied the game at 66-66 on a layup in the paint. 

However, Benedictine went back out in front with a three-point basket and timely free throws in the final few minutes, taking a five-point victory over CMU, 71-66. 

Bevans led all scorers with 25 points on 11-of-17 from the field and two-of-three from beyond the arc. He paired his 25 points with seven rebounds, one steal, and a block in 36 minutes of game action. Fode Camara was next on the stat sheet, as the senior forward collected 13 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, good enough for his third double-double of the year. 

Jayden McGrew was the final Eagle to reach double figures, scoring 10 points on three-of-six from the field and four-of-five from the charity stripe. Amir Pettiford nearly reached double figures with nine points to go along with three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. 

As a unit, CMU converted on 45-percent of its field goal attempts, while Benedictine finished the game shooting 48.3-percent from the floor. Free throws were hard to come by for both sides, as the Eagles only made 10 trips to the line while the Ravens went 11 times.

The Ravens won the battle of the boards, grabbing 37 rebounds compared to 31 for Central. Both squads finished with 11 turnovers. 

CMU remains at home for a non-conference matchup against Hannibal-LaGrange Monday, Nov. 30 at 7:00 p.m. inside Puckett Fieldhouse. 

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