(Peru, Neb.) – After finding themselves down 7-0 at the start of the game, the Bobcat men's basketball team responded and came back for a 79-65 win over Grace University on Tuesday night.
With the win over the Royals, Peru State improved to 3-2 for the season while Grace fell to 1-8 on the year while primarily playing NAIA and NCAA competition.
Game Highlights
The Royals jumped to a 7-0 lead before
Brett Pierce (St. Joseph, Mo.) hit a pair of free throws with 17:05 left in the first half. Still trailing at 12-7,
Jarvis Green-Smoot (Norfolk) hit a three-pointer on an assist and followed it with a dunk to tie the game at 12-12 with 13:50 left in the half. Green-Smoot was fouled on the play and hit the free throw to give Peru State a one-point advantage at 13-12. After that point, the Bobcats would not trail in the game.
Peru State would stretch the lead to 21-12 as
Nate Bohy (Mesa, Ariz.) hit a bucket which was eventually followed by a pair of free throws from
Jesse Jones (Edmond, Okla.). Bohy also hit a pair of free throws making it 19-12 before
Taylor Christensen (Phoenix, Ariz.) hit a field goal with 11:39 left in the half before the Royals would stop the scoring run with a three-pointer.
The largest lead of the first half came after Bohy made a pair of free throws, putting Peru State up 27-15 with 10:17 to go in the first 20 minutes.
At halftime, Peru State maintained a double-digit lead at 40-29.
In the first two minutes of the second half, the Royals went on an 8-1 run, cutting the Peru State lead to 41-37 with 17:59 left in the game.
Back-to-back buckets by Christensen and
Grant Leslie (Auburn) stretched Peru State's lead back to eight at 45-37 at the 16:27 mark.
With 13:12 left in the game, the Royals would get within two at 49-47 before the Bobcats would go on a 6-0 run to lead again by eight at 55-47. The closest that Grace would get during the rest of the game was at 57-52 with 9:33 left.
Peru State would eventually lead by as many as 14 points with 1:27 left in the game and won by the same margin.
Team Statistics
Peru State shot well from the floor as they finished the game making 51.1% of their field goal tries, going 24 of 47. The 'Cats only attempted five three-pointers and made just one for 20%. At the charity stripe, the Bobcats made 42 trips to the line and hit 30 for 71.4%.
Grace was 25 of 62 from the floor for 40.3% which included making 4 of 15 three-point attempts for 26.7%. The Royals only took 19 free throw attempts and hit 11 for 57.9%.
The rebounding numbers were close as Peru State grabbed 36 compared to 33 for the Royals. Both teams committed too many turnovers as Grace finished with 25 miscues while the Bobcats had 23. Peru State blocked six shots compared to the Royals five.
Individual Statistics
Four Bobcats finished in double figures and were led by the Bobcat bigs, Tokie Aromona and
Taylor Christensen, who each had 16 points. Bohy added 14 points while Tomie Aromona added 12 points.
Christensen had a game-high ten rebounds and was credited for all six of Peru State's blocked shots. His six blocked shots ties an individual, single-game Bobcat record which has stood for 27 years. Robert Nicholas blocked six shots against Tarkio College during the 1986-87 season.
Kody Kirkpatrick (Loami, Ill.) dished out two assists while five other Bobcats each had one. Jones grabbed four steals while Bohy had three.
GRACE BOX SCORE
Upcoming Games
Peru State will be on the road for their next three games before returning to the confines of the Al Wheeler Activity Center on Thursday, Dec. 5.
This Saturday, Nov. 23, the 'Cats will travel to Belleville, Ill., to face the Lindenwood-Belleville University Lynx at 1 p.m. Currently, the Lynx are 4-4 having topped Mid-Continent University of Kentucky last night 93-60.
The Bobcats will step up to play NCAA DII Wayne State College a week later on Saturday, Nov. 30, at 6 p.m. The Wildcats are 2-1 having won last night over Crown College 80-52. Wayne State will host Augustana University on Nov. 25 before taking on the Bobcats after Thanksgiving.
Then, on Dec. 3, Peru State will travel to Lawrence, Kan., to face the Fighting Indians of Haskell Indian Nations University at 7 p.m. Last night, Haskell fell to Missouri Valley College and will play three additional games before taking on the Bobcats.
