COLUMBIA, Mo. – For the second time this season, the Raven men's basketball team took on a school ranked in the NAIA Div. I top 10 as they took on No. 6 Columbia College Cougars.
Columbia (11-0) took advantage of 13 second-half turnovers by Benedictine (8-4) to earn a 66-58 win over the Ravens.
The Cougars scored 19 points off Benedictine turnovers in the second half as the Ravens committed 20 on the day. Columbia finished the game with a 20-3 advantage in points off turnovers.
After playing through three ties and seven lead changes over the first 12 minutes of the first half, Columbia went on a 10-1 run that pushed their advantage to nine points.
Benedictine closed the half with a run of their own, outscoring the Cougars 13-5 over the final nine minutes of the first half to trail 28-27 at the break.
The second half started with four lead changes before Benedictine built an eight-point advantage.
The Ravens held the lead for a nine-minute span before the Cougars took a 51-50 lead.
After two ties and Benedictine briefly regaining the lead with two minutes and 30 seconds remaining, Columbia held off the Ravens upset bid from the charity stripe.
Columbia converted six of their 14 second-half free throws over the final minute of the game to hold on for the win.
Benedictine forward Charlie Wallrapp (Jr., Omaha) led all scorers with 25 points, 11 of which came in the second half. Guard Brett Fisher (Soph., Overland Park) added 12 points, all of which were scored in the second half, to round out the leading scorers for Benedictine.
Columbia had three players finish in double figures, led by the 16-point effort of guard Devin Griffin.
The Ravens remain on the road for their final pre-Christmas game, traveling to Omaha, Neb., on Tuesday to take on University of Nebraska at Omaha. Tip time is scheduled for 7 p.m.