MILWAUKEE – Returning back to the court, Mason Dopirak dropped 17 first-half points to help get the MSOE men's basketball team get back on the winning train as they defeated Benedictine University at home Saturday afternoon.

FINAL SCORE
MSOE RAIDERS – 81

Benedictine - 70

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Benedictine (5-13, 4-7 NACC) started rolling the quick-paced first half from the opening tip, scoring seven points before MSOE (12-6, 8-3 NACC) could knock one in when Chase Cummings nailed a three from CJ Valente. The Raiders started a run of their own to take a lead when Dopirak nailed a three, but the two began trading leads as there were a total of six in the first half. A steal and breakaway from Donovan Carter changed that momentum with six and a half to play as they didn't give it up after that, leading as large as eight after Dopirak fed Cummings inside before heading into the break leading 45-40.
• The Eagles immediately made things interest nailing a three on their opening possession to cut it to two, but minutes later, Carter made it a double-digit game when he nailed a jumper at the 15:59 mark. The Raiders started to catch fire when after a free throw from the Eagles cut it to seven, they went on a 12-0 run that was capped by a pull-up three from Dopirak that needed an Eagle timeout to settle it. The Eagles continued to make things interesting by bringing their deficit down to ten with eight minutes remaining, but things were already locked up as the Raiders continued to put down the pedal to seal it.

MSOE STAT TRACKER
Points – Mason Dopirak (26)
Rebounds – Mason Dopirak (9)
Assists – Mason Dopirak & Ethan Johnson (5)
Steals – Donovan Carter (2)
Blocks – Ethan Johnson (2)

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will have a week of rest before tipping off for revenge against Illinois Tech next Saturday, February 1^st at 1:00 PM.

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