(Peru, Neb.) – When it looked like the Bobcat men could secure their first win in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC), the Avila University Eagles snatched it away winning 51-47.
With the win, Avila improves to 12-6 overall while Peru State College (PSC) falls to 1-18 for the year. In the HAAC, the Eagles are 5-2 and the Bobcats are 0-7.
First Half Action
The Eagles took a 4-0 lead before Richard Oppitz
(Topeka, Kan.) put the Bobcats on the board at the 18:38 mark. Another bucket by Avila put them up 6-2 before Jacob Schaben
(Defiance, Iowa) was able to put in a field goal in the paint. After each team missed several shots, Kevin Tighe
(North Platte) tied the game at 6-6 on the assist by Oppitz with 17:18 left in the first 20 minutes.
An Avila bucket gave them a two-point advantage before Tighe hit a three-pointer on the assist from Eric Donald
(Omaha) giving the 'Cats their first lead of the game at 9-8 with 16:19 remaining. The teams traded buckets, but Avila eventually went up by four at 17-13 on a trey at the 12:30 mark.
The 'Cats continued to fight and went on a 7-3 run to knot the game at 20 each on a bucket by Derrick Williams
(St. Joseph, Mo.) with just under eight minutes left in the half. PSC had another 5-2 run to go up 25-22 with Connor Smith
(Lincoln) giving the 'Cats the three-point cushion with 6:45 left in the half.
Peru State stretched their lead to 29-23 as Oppitz made the second of his double bonus free throw with 4:44 remaining in the first stanza. Avila answered to cut it to a one-point lead for the Bobcats at 29-28 before Peter Knudsen
(Vanloese, Denmark) hit the second of his two free throws giving the 'Cats a 30-28 lead with just over two minutes left. Neither team was able to score in the final 120 seconds and Peru State went into the locker room with the two-point lead.
Second Half Action
The Bobcats would score the first points of the second half as Knudsen hit a jumper at the 18:39 mark making it PSC 32-28. The teams continued to trade buckets with PSC either maintaining a two- or four-point advantage until the 12:50 point in the game. PSC had a 39-36 lead after Andre Wells
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) hit the second of two free throws.
Avila went on a 6-0 run which was eventually stopped when Schaben hit one of two free throws to cut the Eagle lead to 42-40 with just over ten minutes left. The Eagles got another bucket to go back up by four at 44-40 with 8:39 left.
Neither team would score for the next 90 seconds until Riley hit a free throw cutting the Avila lead to 44-41. Off an Eagle turnover Williams hit a bucket in the paint making the deficit only one at 44-43 with 6:32 to go.
It was two minutes before either team would score when Avila hit a field goal giving them a three-point lead. This was followed by another Eagle bucket putting Avila up 48-43 with 3:39 left.
Oppitz came back with a bucket and was fouled, but missed the free throw and PSC still trailed by three with 3:28 remaining. Avila was able to keep the ball at their end of the court for over a minute by getting offensive rebounds, but could not cash in. This forced the Eagles to call a timeout to determine what to do in the remaining 90 seconds. Out of the timeout, an Eagle was charged with an offensive foul giving the ball to PSC. Unfortunately, the 'Cats were not able to do anything and eventually gave the ball back to Avila.
Avila could not cash in on a Bobcat foul when they were in the double bonus. Peru State gave the ball back on a turnover, but Wells blocked the Eagle shot out of bounds with 43 ticks left on the clock.
The Bobcats called the timeout and PSC was forced to foul. The Eagles made the first free throw stretching their lead to 49-45 with 31 seconds left. Another Bobcat turnover forced PSC to foul which saw Avila make one of two giving them a five-point cushion 50-45 with 11 seconds to go.
Peru State did not give up as a Bobcat three-point attempt was rebounded by Oppitz and put it back up and scored, cutting it to 50-47. After the clock was reset, the Bobcats fouled immediately putting the Eagles to the line and Avila made the second of the double bonus giving the Eagles a four-point lead with five ticks left.
Avila fouled and the 'Cats missed both and the Eagles won the game 51-47.
Team Statistics
Neither team shot the ball well from the floor or the free throw lane. Avila was 35.7% from the field making 20 of 56 while PSC managed to hit 17 of 51 for 33.3%. Both teams were very cold from the three-point range as the 'Cats made one of ten and Avila only made one of 11. The free throw shooting was poor by each team. Peru State did outshoot the Eagles, but it was not significant enough to affect the outcome of the game. The Bobcats hit 12 of 26 for 46.2% while Avila finished making only ten of 26 for 38.5%.
The rebounding was close until near the end of the game when Avila was able to pull down a number of offensive rebounds to take a 44-33 advantage by the end of the game. Both teams committed a significant number of turnovers with PSC having 28 and Avila with 27. The Bobcats swatted away three Eagles' shots while Avila blocked one PSC attempt.
GAME BOX SCORE
Individual Statistics
No Bobcat was able to finish in double figures. Oppitz and Riley each finished with seven points. Smith and Williams each added six.
Opptiz was the team's leading rebounder with nine while Schaben grabbed seven before fouling out. Williams pulled down six caroms.
KNCY Player of the Game – Richard Oppitz
Oppitz was named the KNCY Player of the Game. When asked about the game, Oppitz said, “We had them on the ropes, but we could not get the buckets to fall and could not get the rebounds when we needed them. But, it was the type of game we want as we like to battle. Both teams tonight could take advantage of being at the free throw line.”
In conclusion, Oppitz added, “They were a very physical team. We did hold them to 51 points, which was part of our plan. But, we needed to put more points on the board to get the win.”
Bobcat Head Troy Katen's Comments
Following the game, Bobcat head coach Troy Katen noted the coaches were proud of the team. Katen said, “We were proud of the guys as it was a heckuva defensive effort as we held them to 51 points which was well under their scoring average which was somewhere in the 70's. Defensively, we played pretty well for the 40 minutes with the exception of a couple of possessions.”
Katen continued, “One of the stretches we had problems with was near the end as they kept the ball for a long time by getting the offensive rebounds. Also, another problem was not shooting well from the free throw line. If we had shot 50%, we could have won.”
“The Eagles played some lock-down defense. We knew it coming in that we would have to face a tough defense, but we got a couple of backdoor shots early. It was physical, but we probably got the best of them defensively for the game, but the small stretches still hurt us,” Katen added.
In conclusion, Katen stated, “It is to the point now where it is a very fine line where it comes down to one possession, one charge, or one basket where we can win. It comes down to the attention to details and we have been preaching that, so we need to continue to change the culture and then we will be able to compete with the crème' de la crème' of the conference. Graceland will be a challenge as they have the top scorer in the conference, so it will be a tough match. He will get his points, but we have to stop their other guys from scoring.”
Upcoming Games
The Bobcats will be traveling to Lamoni, Iowa, on Thursday, Jan. 19, to take on the Graceland University YellowJackets with the men's game starting at approximately 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Peru State will be hosting the Evangel University Crusaders beginning at approximately 4 p.m.
On Thursday, Jan. 26, the 'Cats will be at home hosting the MidAmerica Nazarene University Pioneers. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Presently, Evangel and MidAmerica Nazarene are sitting atop the HAAC with 6-1 league records so the Bobcats will have the opportunity to knock off the best.
All Bobcat games can be heard live on KNCY 103.1 Country Radio. Bobcat fans can now listen to Bobcat basketball on their mobile devices by clicking on the Live Audio link on either the women or men's schedules at pscbobcats.com. This is not an app, but rather a link through the internet. In addition, all home games are now available via
Livestream that can be accessed by linking to the Live Audio button on the same schedule.
