LYCEUM finally clinched a twice to beat advantage in the NCAA Season 94, finishing strong against St. Benilde 77-64 on Thursday at the Filoil Flying V Arena.
Raymar Caduyac led the Pirates' 9-2 finish as they fended off the Blazers' late charge and formally show Benilde the door out of Final Four contention.
Leading by just six with three minutes, the Pirates forced the Blazers to three consecutive turnovers, all of which resulting to baskets for Lyceum.
The Pirates improved to 15-2 to return at the top of the standings. The Blazers, on the other hand, got the axe as they fell to 8-8.
"There’s a big lesson from that loss against Letran. It really kept us humble and knowing we don’t have always control of what the future will bring for us but what’s important is how we stuck together as a team," said Lyceum coach Topex Robinson.
Caduyac finished with 10 points, six of which coming in the last two minutes which went along seven assists and five rebounds.
CJ Perez led the way for the Pirates with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals as Mike Nzeusseu added 13 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks.
Justin Gutang led Benilde with 13 points and seven boards.
The scores:
LPU 77 – Perez 17, Nzeusseu 13, Caduyac 10, Ayaay 10, Tangsingco 8, Marcelino JV 6, Yong 4, Pretta 3, Marcelino JC 2, Ibanez 2, Santos 2, Valdez 0
CSB 64 – Gutang 13, Leutcheu 11, Carlos 11, Dixon 8, Haruna 8, Naboa 7, Nayve 5, Pasturan 1, Belgica 0, Young 0
QUARTERS: 26-17, 37-35, 62-53, 77-64
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