Men's Basketball battles, loses to Graceland

Men's Basketball suffered a home conference loss Tuesday night.

The Ravens lost to the unbeaten Graceland University Yellowjackets, 76-65.

The Ravens fell behind by as many as 20 points in the second half but wouldn't roll over. Instead, they battled back and got within single digits at one point before ultimately losing by 11.

Graceland entered the game averaging 80 points per game and seemed like they would easily reach that mark before the Ravens defense stiffened up over the final 11 minutes of the game. In that time frame the Ravens allowed just 13 points and 8 of those came from the free throw line.

Brycen LaRue led the Ravens with 16 points. He was joined in double figures by Harrison Kisling and Larry Parker, who each had 13 points, and Deaglan Sullivan's 10 points. Preston Reynolds did a bit of everything for the Ravens, scoring 5 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists and blocking a shot. Parker added 5 rebounds and Sullivan notched 3 assists.

Outside shooting was a struggle for the Ravens as they converted just 18.5% from the 3-point line.

The Ravens entered halftime down by 10 after a strong finish to the first half by Graceland. The Ravens held a 24-22 lead with just under 6 minutes to play but the Yellowjackets ripped off a 14-2 run to finish the half and take a 36-26 lead into the break.

The Ravens shot 9-of-13 inside the 3-point line in the opening half but struggled behind it, shooting just 2-14. Conversely, the Yellowjackets knocked down 7-14 from deep in the opening half to help them to a lead at the break. Graceland finished the game shooting 12-24 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Next up for the Ravens (2-6, 1-3 Heart) is a Wednesday, Dec. 4 road game at Park University.