DUBUQUE, Iowa – Benedictine Men's Basketball hit six free throws in the final 90 seconds of the game to seal the win over Clarke University on Saturday afternoon.

The Ravens finished the game hitting 16 of 23 free throws – their most at the charity stripe since hitting 22 against Peru State on Nov. 21 – en route to beating the Pride 61-58 as they took the season series over Clarke and snapped a three-game losing streak.

Benedictine trailed once against Clarke after jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead with a pair of 3-pointers from Ezrah Vaigafa and Braden Belt. 

The Ravens maintained the lead throughout much of the first half, building as much as a 7-point lead when a layup from Jack Vander Woude put them ahead 17-10. The Pride outscored the Ravens 15-7 over the next four minutes to take a brief 25-24 lead that was erased on another 3-pointer from Vaigafa.

After taking a 33-32 lead into the half, the Ravens used a 12-1 run inside the first 7 minutes of the second half to push their halftime lead to 11 points when Brycen LaRue hit a 3-pointer to put the Ravens ahead 47-36 with 14:23 remaining in the game.

Clarke limited Benedictine's offense over the final 10 minutes of the game. After building their double-figure lead, the Ravens connected on four more field goals the rest of the game. That allowed Pride to gradually cut into the Ravens lead and tied the game at 55 with 3:02 remaining. 

While Benedictine was held scoreless from the field over the final three minutes of the game, they held Clarke to just one 3-pointer as they were able to knock down free throws over the final 90 seconds to seal the win.

The Ravens finished with a balanced offensive attack, led by Belt and Preston Reynolds with 12 points each. Vaigafa and Gino Corridori finished with 8 points each, LaRue and Larry Parker III added 7 points each while Vander Woude finished with 6.

Benedictine finished the game with a 28-14 advantage in the paint while scoring 10 points off 10 Pride turnovers.

The Ravens return home on Wednesday as they continue the second half of Heart play, hosting Central Methodist University at 7:30 p.m. inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium. CMU earned a 90-58 win over Benedictine back on Nov. 29 in Fayette, Mo. 

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