"It was a very impressive effort by Chris," said Eureka coach Jay Bruer. "I was pleased with the team's effort in the second half."
"It was amazing that Chris could play at that high level in the first game," added Bruer. "He looked like he was here all year."
Eureka (4-10, 0-2 NIIC) started 3-of-15 from the floor as the visiting Eagles raced out to a 23-7 lead. Benedictine (7-7, 1-0 NIIC) took advantage of 14 first half Eureka turnovers and Matt Harrison tallied 13 points by halftime as the Eagles held a 41-26 lead.
Benedictine took their largest lead of the day at 50-30 at the 17:33 mark of the second half after making their first four shots of the period.
Eureka began chipping away at the lead and Tim Peffer's trey with 9:46 left cut the deficit under ten at 60-51. EC twice got within seven, once when Peffer added another three to make the score 68-61 and the last time after a conventional three-point play by Matt McComb with 5:06 remaining.
Benedictine was 12-for-14 from the line in the last four minutes to seal the game. The Eagles shot 31-41 from the line in the game compared to three-for-five for Eureka.
Peffer finished with 22 points, with 17 coming in the second half. McComb ended with nine points and seven assists.
Harrison netted 31 points and was 13-for-15 on free throws. Alan Fudge had 19.
The Red Devils play at Aurora University Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m.