Benedictine Sophomore Jaiden Bristol

There’s often a saying throughout the sport of basketball that big-time players make big plays in big games.

For Benedictine College sophomore point guard Jaden Bristol that was the case Thursday night, as the St. Joseph, Missouri product poured in a career-high 36 points to lead the No. 3-ranked Raven men’s basketball team past Westmont College 90-85 in the opening round of the NAIA DI Men’s National Tournament in Kansas City.

Making their second appearance in the past two seasons the Ravens seemed to be right at home in Municipal Auditorium, but none more than Bristol who made play after play when Benedictine needed him the most.

It didn’t come easy for the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular season champs early on, as Westmont shot lights out early knocking down five 3-pointers in the first half to lead by eight with 8:50 to play in the opening 20 minutes.

The Ravens were never fazed, as Bristol and company battled back to trail by just one at halftime thanks to a 3-pointer by senior Thomas O’Conner at the first half buzzer.

Bristol had just 10 points at the halftime break, but in the second half he was outstanding scoring 26 points in any way you can think and for the most part put the Ravens on his back.

His final stat line was off the charts as he finished with a game-high 36 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the floor including nine rebounds to go along with two assists and three 3-pointers.

Senior Adam Kutney was also outstanding as the big man finished with 17 points on 8-of-9 free throw shooting while freshman Eric Kruse added 15.

The Ravens now advance to the sweet 16 for the first time since 2014, and BC will take on Pikeville University Friday night around 7:30 pm with live coverage on KAIR 93.7 FM. Pikeville finished No. 13 in the final NAIA DI rankings of the season and knocked off Talladega Thursday morning in their opening round game 69-65.