WINONA, Minn. — It started with the nation's top 100 non-Division I men's basketball players.
 
That list has been whittled to 50.
 
And Saint Mary's University's Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) made the cut.
 
On Monday, Small College Basketball and the National Awards Committee announced the Bevo Francis Top 50 Watch List for the 2022-23 season — which included the Cardinals' Anthony. The Top 50 Watch List consists of some of the top players from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA.
 
The list, which started with 100 of the best non-Division I college basketball players in the country — before being reduced to 50 on Wednesday — will be cut down to the Top 25 players on March 15. On April 1st, the finalists of this year's award will be announced, followed by the Bevo Francis Award winner being crowned on April 3rd.
 
In its seventh season, the Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations are season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements.
  
Anthony has been a one-man highlight reel for the Cardinals this season, carrying an impressive 24.3 ppg scoring average, while also hauling in a team-best 208 rebounds (9.9 rpg). Anthony's 24.2 ppg scoring average is not only tops on the team — and in the league — it also ranks No. 2 in all of NCAA Division III behind E.J. Day of Lasell (25.8 ppg).
 
The senior guard is shooting 53.9 percent from the field (208-for-386), with 27 3-pointers, and is 117 of 152 from the free throw line (77.0 %) — while averaging 35.3 minutes.
 
Anthony has scored in double figures in all 23 games this season, with 16 games of 20+ points — including a 30-point night against Crown, a 32-point game against Saint John's, a 33-point showing against Hamline, and career-best 41-point outings against both North Park and Concordia.
 
Anthony — whose 41-point showings against North Park on Dec. 30 and Concordia on Jan. 21 are the highest single-game individual performance since Will Wright netted 41 against MacMurray on Nov. 22, 2008 — collected his 1,000th career point against Finlandia on Jan. 2 and is currently sitting 10th all-time with 1,328 career points.
 
And scoring isn't the senior's only forte.
 
Anthony also leads the team in rebounds (208, 9.0 rpg) and assists (102), and has recorded 10 double-doubles — including his first career points/assist double-double with 19 points and a career-high 10 assists against Gustavus on Nov. 19.
 
With Anthony leading the charge, the Cardinals (10-8 MIAC, 14-9 overall) have rattled off 11 wins in their last 14 contests — including a program-record eight-game winning streak — heading into Wednesday's MIAC matchup at Bethel.