CANTON, Mo. – A pair of 3-pointers from Eric Krus and Matt Austin erased an early lead for Culver-Stockton College on Wednesday night as (RV) Raven Men's Basketball played their second Heart cross-division game of the season.

Benedictine (13-5, 10-4 Heart) took control from there lead the rest of the way as they earned a 73-62 win over the Wildcats.

The Ravens used the 3-pointer to pull ahead of the Wildcats in the first half as they went 7 for 17 to build as much as a 13 point lead before taking a 37-25 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Wildcats defense stepped up to limit the Ravens look from beyond the arc. The Ravens shot just eight more 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes of play, hitting two. Benedictine attacked the basket throughout the second half as they dominated play in the paint. The Ravens scored 24 of their 37 second-half points in the paint to maintain their advantage over the Wildcats.

Culver-Stockton did manage an offensive run that cut Benedictine's lead down to five points with 9 minutes remaining. Benedictine answered that run to outscore Culver-Stockton 12-6 over the next four minutes to put the game out of reach en route to the 11-point win.

Benedictine finished the game with a 36-8 advantage in the paint while holding the Wildcats to just 27.6 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Austin finished with a game-high 22 points while Krus added 21. Austin scored 19 of his points in the first half to help anchor the Ravens offensive effort while Krus scored 12 of his points in the second half. Jayden Temme added 9 points while Jaiden Bristol finished with a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with 6 points and 8 assists.

The Ravens return home on Saturday to host Grand View University at 4 p.m. They will join the Raven Women prior to the game to celebrate Senior Day.

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