YORK, Neb. – The York University men's basketball team lost a hard-fought 81-75 game against ninth-ranked Southwestern College Saturday.

The Panthers are now 7-12 overall, including 5-8 in KCAC play.

Head coach Tree Burks' team was led by Andrew Bennett's 15 points and eight rebounds. He also added two blocks. Dwight Glover tallied 13 points while Trevon Dennis, Jaden Henderson and DJ Leaks added 12 points apiece. Cam Clardy chipped in 11 points in the loss.

Leaks snagged eight boards while Dennis grabbed seven rebounds.

Down 7-4 in the early going, Bennett buried a pair of jumpers. Henderson converted a lay-up before Dennis took a pass from Clardy for a three-ball, giving the home team a 13-7 advantage at the 15:47 mark. Up 13-10, Henderson hit a jumper followed by a free throw. Leading 23-19, Clardy nailed a jumper. DJ Leaks hit two free throws for a 27-19 edge at the 10:52 mark.

The Panthers held a 30-25 edge before Bennett hit a pair of jumpers. Clardy added a bucket to push the margin to 11 at 36-25. However, the Builders closed the half on a 17-1 run to make it 42-37 at the break.

Down 46-39 with just under 17 minutes to play, Bennett converted a three-point play to pull within four. Trailing by eight, Glover notched a three-point play to pull within five at the 12:51 mark. A 6-0 spurt moments later by Southwestern made it a 12-point contest with 9:40 to play.

The Panthers were down by 11 with 4:47 to go but the squad battled back. Bennett nailed a jumper 19 seconds later. At the 3:47 mark, Bennett found Dennis for a three-point bucket, making it 71-65. Leaks' two free throws cut the margin to five with 2:51 to play.

Charity tosses from Clardy and Dennis sliced the deficit to five with 1:22 to go but Southwestern hit a three-point bucket with 55 ticks on the clock to go up 77-69. The Panthers countered eight seconds later when Leaks converted an inside shot.

Down 78-71, Glover buried a jumper with 22 seconds to play. The Builders made a foul shot with 17 seconds on the clock and Leaks answered with a basket seven seconds later. Forced to foul, the visitors made a pair of free throws for the final tally.

For the game, York hit 29-of-64 (45.3 percent) from the floor. The squad made four from downtown and converted 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) from the foul line. The Panthers held a 39-33 edge on the glass, including an 11-8 advantage on the offensive boards. York recorded 25 points off the bench. The home team maintained a 14-11 edge in second-chance points.

The Panthers return to action Monday when they play at McPherson at 8 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at Yorkpanthers.com.