(Peru, Neb.) – The Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat men's basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak on Thursday night with an upset win over the visiting Baker University Wildcats 74-62.
It was a much-needed victory for the Bobcats as they preserved hopes for post-season play in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC). The win improved PSC's HAAC mark to 3-10, tying them with Avila University for the eighth in the ten-team league. Overall, PSC improved to 10-14.
The loss dropped the Wildcats to 7-7 in the HAAC, putting them sixth in the league. Overall, Baker is now 14-10.
Game Action
Baker opened the game with a trey to take a 3-0 lead before Peru State fashioned a 10-0 run to lead 13-3 at the 15:08 mark. The Bobcats would never relinquish the lead during the rest of the game.
Kody Kirkpatrick (Loami, Ill.) tied the game at 3-3 on a three-pointer on an assist coming from
Derrick Williams (St. Joseph, Mo.). Williams got the next two buckets, which was followed by a dunk by
Andre Wells (Colorado Springs). On PSC's next possession, Kirkpatrick gained an assist as Williams hit a bucket in the paint. Williams followed with another hoop, this time on an assist from
Nate Bohy (Mesa, Ariz.).
Baker would stop the run with a bucket, but Williams again put PSC up by ten at 15-5 at the 14:00 minute mark in the first half. The remainder of the first half was pretty even with the Bobcats maintaining an eight-point advantage at 34-26.
In the second stanza, PSC had a 12-point lead at 46-34 with 14:15 left as
Justin Jones (Edmond, Okla.) hit a field goal on an assist from
Jarvis Green-Smoot (Norfolk). The Wildcats would fashion an 8-0 run to make it 46-42 with 11:28 to go. However, this would be as close as Baker would be during the remainder of the game as PSC pulled away for the 74-62 victory.
Team Statistics
Peru State had one of its better shooting nights of the season as they finished the game making 25 of 48 field goals for 52.1%. This included going three of eight from behind the arc for 37.5%. The Wildcats made 20 of 50 field goal tries for 40% and hit six of 19 from three-point range for 31.6%.
At the charity stripe, the Bobcats made 21 of 31 for 67.7%, compared to Baker's 16 of 26 shooting for 61.5%.
The Bobcats held the advantage in rebounding, grabbing 35 caroms compared to 25 for the Wildcats. Baker committed only 11 turnovers while PSC had 15 miscues. Peru State did block six Wildcat shot attempts while Baker only swatted away one PSC field goal try.
Individual Statistics
Two season-high scoring performances helped fuel PSC to the win. Williams finished with a season-high 32 points, hitting 12 of 16 field goals and was a perfect eight of eight at the charity stripe. In addition, Williams had six rebounds and three assists.
Wells had a season-high 12 points. In addition, Wells blocked three shots and grabbed seven rebounds.
Kirkpatrick added 13 points that included going seven of eight from the free-throw line. Kirkpatrick added five rebounds.
Richard Oppitz (Topeka) had a game-high 11 rebounds. Oppitz added five points and two steals.
BAKER BOX SCORE
Williams Career Record Watch
With his 32 points, Williams moved into fifth on the all-time Bobcat career scoring leaders chart currently with his 1,339 total points. Williams moved ahead of Ananias Montague who played from 1970-73. He would only need 31 more points to move into fourth.
KNCY Player of the Game –Derrick Williams
For his season-high scoring output, Williams was named the KNCY Player of the Game. Williams said, “Everybody contributed tonight – Baker is a good team, so it was a good win. We need to put it together on Saturday so we can move up in the conference standings.”
Bobcat Head Coach Troy Katen's Post-Game Comments
“It was a great win for our guys,” stated Bobcat head coach Troy Katen following the game. The excited Katen continued, “The first half was probably the best we played in terms of execution and effort. The second half was good and we could see it in our guys and how they played without a look of concern on their face.”
Katen added, “It was not all the
Derrick Williams show, but it was how we ran our offense and we were able to get help from our bigs – especially Andre and Rich. Andre's presence inside was big tonight and it definitely helped us.”
“We had some big rebounds. Our ball pressure was better, our box-outs and hits, everything we have been preaching about all year, we did well. We were able to counter their runs, and our guys kept their cool this game. We had some great shots on multiple ball reversals,” Katen said.
In conclusion, Katen noted, “This is the type of effort we need to have the rest of the season. We should have a lot of confidence after the way we played tonight.”
Upcoming Games
With five games remaining, the Bobcats will be on the road for three of them. The first road trip comes on Saturday when they head to Marshal, Mo., to take on the Missouri Valley Vikings at approximately 4 p.m. The Vikings are on a four-game losing streak and are one game ahead of PSC in the HAAC with a 4-9 mark. Overall, Mo Valley is 9-16.
On Valentine's Day, PSC will be in Atchison, Kan., facing the Benedictine College Ravens, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The Ravens are fourth in the HAAC standings with an 8-5 record and are 16-8 overall.
Then, on Saturday, Feb. 16, Peru State will be hosting the Eagles from Avila University. The Eagles are currently tied with the Bobcats for what could be the last spot for the post-season tournament. Overall, Avila is 8-15. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. The high-flyer gymnasts of Gary's Tumbling from Glenwood, Iowa, will perform during halftime of both games on the 16
th.
