(Peru, Neb.) – When your opponent shoots over 50% from the field and makes 90% of their free throws, it can prove to be tough to overcome on the road for any team.  Such was the case for the Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat men's basketball team as they lost their first contest of 2012 to the Columbia College (Mo.) Cougars 88-57.
 
With the win, the Cougars improve to 13-5 while Peru State falls to 1-14 on the year.
 
Game Action
 
The Cougars took a 4-0 lead before Peter Knudson (Vanloese, Denmark) got the 'Cats on the board with a field goal on an assist from Andre Wells (Colorado Springs, Colo.) making it 4-2 with 16:39 remaining in the first half.  
 
The teams traded buckets before Columbia went up 8-4 with 15:01 left on the first half clock.  Four points by Kevin Tighe (North Platte) eventually tied up the game at 8-8 at the 13:07 mark.  On the next possession, the Cougars made a bucket and that would be the last time the game was tied as Columbia led throughout the rest of the game.
 
Columbia built their lead to as many as 20 points in the first half before PSC cut it to 46-29 at halftime.
 
In the second half, the Cougars extended their lead to 22 at 54-32 within the first four minutes.  PSC did cut it to 17 at 54-37 with 14:56 left in the half, but that was as close as PSC would get during the rest of the game.
 
Poor free throw shooting in the second half helped lead to the Bobcats demise as they missed many front ends of one and one opportunities as they finished the half making only 13 of 26 charity attempts.

 Team Statistics
 
Columbia made 52.6% of their field goal tries canning 30 of 57 for the game while PSC was 17 of 44 for 38.6%.  The only place where the Bobcats shot better was from behind the arc as they made four of 15 tries for 26.7% while the Cougars only attempted six treys making one of 16.7%.
 
As noted earlier, the Cougars were hot from the charity stripe making 27 of 30 free throws for 90%.  Peru State finished the night making 19 of 37 tries for 51.4%, again missing many front ends of one and one attempts.
 
The Cougars outrebounded the 'Cats 37 to 27 and forced PSC into 19 turnovers while only committing ten on the night.  One place where Peru State had a slight advantage was their shot blocking as the Bobcats swatted away eight Cougar attempts while Columbia blocked seven PSC tries.

GAME BOX SCORE
 
Individual Statistics
 
Only one Bobcat finished in double figures.  Derrick Williams (St. Joseph, Mo.) led the 'Cats with 12 points after having not played for over three weeks.  Williams added one rebound, one assist, and one steal.
 
Knudson finished with nine points while Tighe added eight.  Richard Oppitz (Topeka, Kan.) led the Bobcats with seven rebounds and blocked two shots.  Wells finished the night with five blocked shots.
 
KNCY Player of the Game Comments
 
Knudson was chosen as the KNCY Player of the Game for his nine-point effort on the night and for primarily stepping into a newer role offensively.  When asked about the game, Knudson said, “We did not come out with the intensity needed at the beginning tonight.  We had to fight to get back into the game after following behind and it kind of drained us.”  Discussing Columbia's defensive intensity, Knudson added, “They were very aggressive with their defense and put a lot of pressure on our guards.  Since I am now playing a point guard role, it was a little different because I am somewhat rusty, as I have not played the position in over four years.  But, I am willing to do whatever needs to be done for the team.”
 
Knudson noted, “My height does give me a little advantage in the position as I can look over some of the shorter guards.  It is a much bigger responsibility as I have to keep everyone going and make sure they (my teammates) are doing their jobs.”  Concluding, Knudson stated, “We will get back to the gym tomorrow and get ready for the conference.  We need to get a win and get things going for the rest of the season.”
 
Bobcat Head Coach Troy Katen Comments
 
“Initially, we did a good job of penetrating the lane.  We knew their bigs were dominating and we had to keep trying to take the ball in against them,” stated Bobcat head coach Troy Katen following the game.  Katen added, “When we miss that many free throws in any game, especially with a lot of front ends of one and ones, that makes it tough.  Tomorrow, we will go through the scouting report on Baker and we will shoot/make free throws.”
 
“During the game, their bigs did a good job of pushing our guys out and blocking shots.  They (Columbia) made several runs and we stopped them with either timeouts or runs of our own, but our runs were shorter.  They just hurt us by out-hustling us and loose balls and rebounds,” noted Katen. 
 
Katen concluded, “We have improved and we do have more depth, plus, we are playing better than we did during our first three conference games.  We know Baker executes very well, but we will work hard to get our bigs into the game early.”
 
Upcoming Games
 
On Thursday, Jan. 5, the Bobcats will be hosting Baker University in Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) action with the game scheduled for 7:30 p.m. or beginning approximately 20 minutes following the conclusion of the women's game, which begins at 5:30 p.m.
 
HAAC action will continue on Saturday, when the Bobcats travel to Marshall, Mo., to play the Missouri Valley College Vikings.  The women's game begins at 2 p.m. with the men's game scheduled for 4 p.m. 
 
All remaining Bobcat basketball action, both women and men's can be heard live on KNCY Radio 103.1.  Fans can either tune into the radio or click on the Live Audio link found on the athletic website at pscbobcats.com in either team's schedule.