Lamoni, IA - The Graceland men's basketball team landed four players in double figures as the Jackets' staunch defense closed the door on a Raven comeback bid.

Tonight's contest started out with a feverish pace as each team stretched the court and drove hard to the basket to earn points. While Graceland jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a silky Brad Burgus triple, Benedictine College (10-10, 5-4 HAAC) even the score quickly on a Charlie Wallrapp and-one play.

Both teams traded leads until the Ravens took a 20-12 lead with 9:24 remaining in the first half. GU would quickly whittle away at the visitors' lead, launching an 8-0 run featuring field goals from Jamal Lawson, Burgus and a three-pointer from Nick Mikle to tie the score at 20.

At that point, the Jackets caught fire, outscoring the Ravens 20-9 to finish the remainder of the first half with a 40-29 lead. Burgus led all scores with 14 points at the half, while Lawson added 5 rebounds in the first stanza and Chris Henderson posted 6 helpers.

Graceland, after shooting 44.4% in the first half, came out on fire again, building a 16 point lead (60-44) at the 11:46 mark, courtesy of a Henderson shot from beyond the arc. However, the Ravens would not go down quietly.

The momentum began to shift as BC slowly chipped away at the huge Graceland lead. Benedictine rattled off a 26-13 rally with only 20 seconds left in regulation. Garrett Grundman hit one of two free throws, bolstering the lead to four. Then the GU defense stepped up, limiting the Ravens to only two more points the remainder of the contest. Two Henderson free throws sealed the deal, launching the Jackets to its fifth consecutive victory.

"It was a great win against a high-quality opponent tonight," said head coach Jeffrey Hamilton. "We had players step up and have great nights. Credit Benedictine for making great adjustments at halftime.

"We finally had a night where we hit a lot of our shots. Our effort was fantastic. It's just one game and now we turn our focus to MNU."

Burgus knocked down 21 points, while Henderson added 15, Lawson with 13 and Alex Roth notched 11. GU shot an impressive 48.1% from the floor while causing 10 Raven turnovers.

Graceland (14-7, 6-4 HAAC) has won eight of its last nine games and will now travel to MidAmerica Nazarene University, seeking revenge of a 82-79 defeat to the hands of the Pioneers in Lamoni in early December.