Benedictine (Kan.) College head football coach Larry Wilcox has announced the signing of 30 players to join the Raven football program in the fall of 2012.

The signing class consists of players from eight states. Leading the way is 16 from Missouri, followed by six from Kansas and three from Texas. The Ravens also signed one player from Arizona, California, Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska.

The Ravens are coming a season in which they finished 9-3 overall and 7-2 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC). They were also one of three teams from the HAAC to qualify for the 2011 NAIA Football Championship series.

Benedictine finished ranked No. 13 in the NAIA postseason top 25 coaches poll.

Here is the list of signings with height, weight, position, hometown and previous school listed:

Joshua  Canaday    6’2″    295    OL    HARTSBURG, MO/SOUTHERN BOONE
Nathan Christo    6’3″    270    OL    ST LOUIS, MO/TIMBERLAND
Patrick Clancy    6’3″    220    DE    AMES. IA/GILBERT
Brett Coatney    5’11”    170    DB    KANSAS CITY, MO/O’HARA
Daulton Daies    5’11”    300    DL    COTTLEVILLE, MO/FRANCIS HOWELL CENTRAL
Wes Davis    5’9″    185    LB    BOONVILLE, MO/BOONVILLE
Mario Diaz    5’10”    240    DE    CHICAGO, IL/BROTHER RICE
Ethan Diederich    6’2″    215    ILB    GREENLEAF, KS/HANOVER
Greg Fry    5’10”    190    OLB    OLATHE, KS/OLATHE SOUTH
Ganon Gorseth    6′    205    ILB    OMAHA, NE/MILLARD SOUTH
Ty Green    6′    290    DL    WOOLDRIDGE, MO/BOONVILLE
Lorenzo Gregory    6′    290    DL    FLORISSANT, MO/DESMET JESUIT
Tyler Grethen    5’10”    195    RB    ASHLAND, MO/SOUTHERN BOONE
Cameron Hajok    6’2″    230    DE    HIGHLAND VILLAGE, TX/FLOWERMOUND MARCUS
Darren Handy, Jr.    6’2″    275    OL/DL    CHANDLER, AZ/CHANDLER HS
Jude Hockel    6’4″    270    OL    WALNUT CREEK, CA/NORTHGATE
Mykalen Huntoon    6’3″    305    OL    SPRINGFIELD, MO/PARKVIEW
Nick Jackson    6’1″    220    LB    WICHITA, KS/BISHOP CARROLL
Thaddeus Messer    5’10”    185    OLB    HARRISONVILLE, MO/HARRISONVILLE
Joe Odrowski    6’3″    250    OL    LAWRENCE, KS/LAWRENCE
Brandon Reeve    5’9″    160    WR    INDEPENDENCE, MO/FORT OSAGE
Joshua  Rhodes    5’11”    230    LB    HUFFMAN, TX/HUFFMAN-HARGRAVE
Hiram Adams-Robinson    6’1″    200    WR    KANSAS CITY, MO/RUSKIN
Colton Saunders    6’2″    240    OL    HARRISONVILLE, MO/HARRISONVILLE
Trevor  Shelton    5’11”    175    OLB    MULVANE, KS/MULVANE
D’Andre  Talton    5’11”    205    RB    ST. JOSEPH, MO/LAFAYETTE
Ryan Tanner    6′    170    K/P    JEFFERSON CITY, MO/JEFFERSON CITY HS
Jordan Underwood    6’0′    200    RB    HOUSTON, TX/STRAKE JESUIT
Litton Vanderwerff    6’4″    210    S    LANSING, KS/LANSING
Devon Zimders    6’5″    210    WR/TE    LEBANON, MO/LEBANON

— BC Sports Information —

For the second time this season, the Raven men’s basketball team was forced to wait along with the Raven faithful inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium on officials to review game footage at the conclusion of a game.

Benedictine (11-10, 6-4) snapped a three-game losing streak on Saturday afternoon, knocking off conference No. 2 Evangel University (16-7, 7-3 HAAC), 63-62 in overtime.

With less than three seconds left in the overtime, guard Quaran Johnson (Sr., Philadelphia) knocked in a 3-pointer from deep in the corner right by the Ravens bench.

As the crowd and bench erupted in celebration, the officials met at center court to discuss the play. The ruling on the floor was that Johnson had converted a 3-pointer but the officials decided to review the shot. After review, the shot was confirmed but the officials put one-second back on the clock to give Evangel one last chance.

A full-court pass was knocked away and the Nolan Gymnasium crowd and Raven bench were finally able to celebrate Johnson’s last-second heroics.

It was the second time this season that the end of a Raven game was delayed because of an official review. Back on Jan. 7, the final of the Ravens 71-70 win over MNU was delayed until after officials could review film to determine if time expired before a foul was called against Benedictine.

Benedictine started the game off on a 12-2 run and pushed their lead to as much as 14 points before Evangel closed within single digits by the midpoint of the half.

Baskets by forward Steve O’Brien (Soph., Warragul, Aus.), guard Elgin Caldwell (Sr., Tempe, Ariz.) and forward Charlie Wallrapp (Soph., Omaha) pushed Benedictine back up by double figures.

Benedictine led by 10 at the break after holding Evangel to just five first-half field goals.

The Ravens pushed their lead to 17 points by the midpoint of the second half.

Evangel outscored Benedictine 31-14 over the final 10 minutes of regulation to force overtime.

The Crusaders kept the momentum into the overtime pushing ahead by three points.

Wallrapp and Johnson pulled the Ravens even with a jumper and free-throw respectively before Johnson scored Benedictine’s final five points, which included the last-second 3-pointer.

Wallrapp led the Ravens with a game-high 22 points followed by Johnson with 13 points.

Evangel was led by the 22-point effort of Cale Ramsey.

The win for Benedictine over Evangel snapped a six-year drought against the Crusaders as Benedictine last beat Evangel in December of 2006.

The Ravens return to the road on Saturday as they travel to Marshall, Mo., to take on Missouri Valley College. Tip-off with the Vikings is set for 4 p.m.

— BC Sports Information —

The Raven women’s basketball team overcame a slow start Saturday afternoon against Evangel University to earn a comeback win, 60-59.

Benedictine (12-9, 7-3 HAAC) trailed Evangel (7-12, 5-5 HAAC) most of the game and got a big free throw from guard Kelsey Wolfe (Sr., DeKalb, Mo.) to break the game’s seventh tie in the games final seconds.

A last-second 3-point attempt by the Crusaders missed long and gave Benedictine the one-point win.

Evangel started out the game on a 9-0 run and lead by 10 points over Benedictine by the midpoint of the first half.

Benedictine trailed by as much as 13 points before Wolfe found her range from arc.

Wolfe knocked in four 3-pointers to erase the Ravens deficit and pulled Benedictine back within a possession with just under three minutes left in the half.

A pair of free throws from center Liz Stinson (Jr., Stilwell) pulled Benedictine within one point before Wolfe scored gave the Ravens their first lead of the game at 27-25 with just over one minute left in the half.

By halftime the lead traded hands twice with Evangel taking a two-point lead into the break.

The first two minutes of the second half saw the games third and fourth ties before Evangel was able to pull ahead by six points.

Benedictine continued to chip away at Evangel but couldn’t pull within more than a possession until the four-minute, 46-second mark.

Center Teresa Ziekewicz (Sr., Wichita) hit a free throw that pulled the game to its fifth tie and then Wolfe hit a pair of free throws to give Benedictine their third lead of the game.

Evangel regained the lead minutes later only to have Benedictine answer and regain the lead on a Stinson jumper with two minutes remaining.

Evangel answered to tie the game at 59 to set up the last-second free throw by Wolfe in what proved to be the only point in the final 90 seconds of the game.

Benedictine was able to earn the win despite being outshot by Evangel. The Crusaders knocked in 51.2 percent on the day to the Ravens 38.3 percent.

The difference in the second half came at the charity stripe. Benedictine converted 11 of 19 from the free throw line while Evangel went 3 for 4.

Wolfe led all scorers with 20 points and was the only Raven to reach double figures. Guard Kesley Anselmi (Jr., Olathe) added 9 points while forward Erin Murphy (Jr., Olathe) chipped in with 8 points.

Benedictine was able to score 23 points off turnovers, 12 of which came in the second half while Evangel converted 16 points off turnovers with only five coming in the second half.

The Crusaders were paced by Emily Akins with 18 points.

Benedictine hits the road for a Feb. 4 game in Marshall, Mo. Tip-off against Missouri Valley is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be the first time the two teams have met this season.

— BC Sports Information —

The Benedictine (Kan.) men’s basketball team used a 60 percent shooting effort on Thursday night to take their fourth straight game beating Peru State College, 76-61.

Benedictine (9-7, 4-1 HAAC) knocked in 18 of 30 from the field in the second half to turn a three-point game at the half into a 15-point win over Peru State (1-17, 0-6 HAAC).

The Ravens forced the Bobcats into 23 turnovers off which they scored 26 points.

Benedictine finished with three players in double figures, led by the game-high 16-point effort of forward Charlie Wallrapp.

Peru State was paced by the 16-point effort of Derrick Williams.

Benedictine heads out on the road Saturday as they take on Central Methodist University at 2 p.m. in Fayette, Mo.

— BC Sports Information —

The Benedictine (Kan.) College women’s basketball team scored a season-high 84 points on Thursday night to earn a convincing 84-56 win over conference opponent Peru State College.

Benedictine (8-8, 3-2 HAAC) converted on 51.8 from the floor while limiting Peru State (0-18, 0-6 HAAC) to just 36.4 percent.

Peru State entered the contest as the second-highest overall scoring team in the HAAC but suffered the 28-point loss despite scoring higher than their season average of 60.6 points per game.

Defensively, Benedictine forced 13 turnovers and scored 13 points off those turnovers.

The Raven bench also held a commanding advantage, outscoring the Bobcats 40-14.

Benedictine had five players finish in double figures, led by the game high 18 points of forward Liz Stinson.

Peru State was led by forward Courtney Ward with 14 points.

Benedictine heads out on the road Saturday for a 2 p.m. game in Fayette, Mo., against Central Methodist University.

— BC Sports Information —

The Benedictine (Kan.) College men’s basketball took on their second NCAA Div. I opponent on Tuesday night, hosting the University of Nebraska Omaha on the campus of Benedictine.

While UNO earned a 75-49 win to move to 4-6 on the year, the game was an exhibition for Benedictine and doesn’t count against their season record which stands at 5-5.

Nebraska Omaha converted 12 of 20 from beyond the 3-point arc on Tuesday which allowed them to jump out to a 37-21 halftime lead.

Benedictine was forced into 21 turnovers which led to directly to 34 points for the Nebraska Omaha.

The Ravens hit 40 percent from the floor on the night while UNO went 53.7.

Guard Chris McFaul, who earned his second straight start for Benedictine, led the Ravens with 14 points.

While Benedictine did limit UNO leading scorer Mitch Albers to 13 points, six below his season average, they fininshed with three players in double figures. John Ring led the way with 15 points while Mitchell Farr added 14 anchoring a Mavericks bench that scored 40 points.

Benedictine takes off the rest of this week for finals and returns to competition on Dec. 16, hosting a 7 p.m. game against Columbia (Mo.) College.

— BC Sports Information —

The Benedictine (Kan.) College men’s basketball team converted 14 of 14 from the charity stripe in overtime on Thursday beating Graceland University, 85-74, to wrap up a three-game homestand and start off the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) schedule with a win.

Benedictine (5-4, 1-0 HAAC) limited Graceland (6-4, 0-1) to just 5 of 22 from beyond the 3-point arc, well under their average of 12 3-pointers per game.

The Ravens knocked in 43.1 percent from the field while limited the Yellowjackets to 39.4 percent.

Benedictine forward Alex Miller scored a game-high 24 points, eight of which came in the overtime as he finished the game 10 for 10 from the free throw line.

Graceland was paced by its leading scorer Brad Burgus with 21 points.

Benedictine travels to Springfield, Mo., for a 4 p.m. game Saturday against HAAC member Evangel University.

— BC Sports Information —

The Benedictine College Ravens went 9 of 10 from the free throw line in overtime on Tuesday night to earn a 78-68 win over Missouri Baptist University inside the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium on the campus of Benedictine College.

Benedictine (4-3) moved to 1-1 on their home floor to start off a stretch in which they play six of their next eight at home to close out 2011. MBU (4-3) hit 41.9 percent from the floor in the second half to erase a two-point halftime deficit and force overtime.

The Ravens outscored the Spartans 42-32 in the paint and forced MBU into 17 turnovers off which they scored 13 points.

Benedictine finished with five players in double figures, led by the 16 points of guard Quaran Johnson. Forward Charlie Wallrapp added a double-double, scoring 14 points and pulling in 10 rebounds.

Missouri Baptist was led by the game-high 18 points of guard Kalvin Lewis.

Benedictine remains at home for the second of three straight home games, hosting a 7 p.m. game against the University of St. Mary (Kan.) on Monday, Nov. 28.

— BC Sports Information —