LISLE, Ill. – The Lakeland University men's basketball team gave nationally ranked Benedictine (Ill.) University a challenge but saw its season end with a 78-67 loss Saturday afternoon at the Rice Center.

The Muskies lost their regular season finale to the No. 12-ranked team in the latest NCAA Division III D3hoops.com top 25 poll, a Benedictine squad that also won the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference regular season title. Lakeland finished the year 8-17 overall and 6-14 in conference play.

The Muskies opened an early eight-point lead but were done in by two major runs by the Eagles (21-4 overall, 19-1 NACC). Even so, Lakeland kept up the fight the whole way, even knocking an 18-point deficit down to nine with over five minutes to play and never letting the hosts relax until the final minute.

Lakeland led 18-10 midway through the first half when Mitchell School (Sr.-Wittenberg, Wis.) hit a three-pointer, but the Eagles followed with a 17-2 run over the next five minutes to go ahead for good at 27-20.

The Muskies were able to chop the deficit back down to two points when Pat McDonald (So.-Port Washington, Wis.) hit another three-pointer to make it 29-27 with 4:00 left before halftime, but Benedictine then went on a 25-7 run bookending the halftime break, taking its largest lead at 52-34.

Lakeland still was able to hang around, though, and McDonald hit a three-pointer and Brandon James (Jr.-Rockford, Ill.) scored a pair of layups in a quick 7-0 spurt that made it 72-63 with 5:10 to play. The Eagles finally put it away, holding the Muskies to four points the rest of the way to win.

James finished with 20 points, including a 7-for-8 performance from the free throw line. McDonald scored 13 points and Joshuan McNeal (Jr.-Chicago, Ill.) added 10 points, while Isaac Anderson (Fr.-Linden, Wis.) also scored a season-best seven points off the bench.

The Muskies shot 36.4% from the field (24 of 66) and were out-rebounded 51-33 but stayed in the game by committing just five turnovers.

Benedictine shot 44.4% (32 of 72), including 9 of 31 from three-point range. Tahron Harvey finished with a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, while Brayden Olson came off the bench to score 20 points and nailed six three-pointers.

The game was the final one for three Lakeland seniors: School, Mark Gryszkiewicz (Sr.-Sussex, Wis.) and Jacob Servais (Coon Valley, Wis.). All three were four-year members of the Muskies team.