(Peru, Neb.) – The Bobcat men's basketball team had a six-point cushion at halftime and maintained that lead in the second half as they defeated Baker University Thursday night in Baldwin City, Kan.  Peru State won 70-64 over the Wildcats as they evened their Heart of America Athletic Conference record.
 
Peru State is now 11-8 overall and is 4-4 in the Heart.  The Wildcats dropped to 1-7 in conference action and are 7-11 overall.
 
Game Action
 
The first half went back and forth as there were five ties and six lead changes.  Each team's largest lead was six points.

 
Corday Sims (Chicago) put Peru State on the board first with a trey on the Bobcats' first possession.  Baker came back to tie it with a free throw and a bucket, but Phillip Jackson (Chicago) broke the tie by hitting a pair of free throws.
 
Baker would take its first lead with a three-pointer to lead 6-5.  Sims changed that on Peru State's next possession by getting a bucket.
 
The game would be tied at 8-8 and 10-10 before Baker would move out to its biggest lead of the half at 21-15 with 9:55 left in the first 20 minutes.
 
Buckets by Jackson and Jamar Cannon (Inglewood, Calif.) would cut Baker's lead to two at 21-19 at the 7:42 mark.  The Wildcats would maintain their lead until Jackson hit a bucket in the paint after grabbing an offensive rebound to tie it at 25-25 with 4:48 left on the first half clock.
 
A steal by Sean McGary (Omaha) would lead to a Sims bucket on an assist from McGary putting the 'Cats back on top 27-25. 
 
After the game was tied at 27-27, Baker hit a pair of free throws, Grant Leslie (Auburn) went to the line and hit two free throws to put the Bobcats on top for what would be the rest of the game.
 
A three-pointer by Jeff Neverson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was the last scoring of the first half and Peru State led 39-33.
 
In the second half, Peru State led throughout and stretched its lead to ten on several occasions.  The first came on a Sims' trey making it 49-39 Peru State with 15:18 left in the game.
 
Baker still battled in the game and was back within three at 64-61 at the 3:47 mark, but that would be as close as they would come.  Peru State finished the game by outscoring the Wildcats 6-3 to take the 70-64 win.
 
Team Statistics
 
 

Peru State shot better from the floor than the Wildcats as they made 23 of 53 field goals for 43.4%.  From behind the arc, the Bobcats were 5 of 12 for 41.7%.  At the charity stripe, the 'Cats made 19 of 27 tries for 70.4%.
 
The Wildcats connected on 22 of 57 field goal tries for 38.6% which included making 6 of 15 from long range for 40%.  From the free throw line, Baker made 14 of 18 for 77.8%.
 
The rebounding advantage was held by Peru State as they grabbed 37 while the Wildcats finished with 33.  The Bobcats did commit more turnovers as they had 17 while Baker committed 15.  Peru State blocked eight shots while Baker blocked four Bobcat tries.
 
Individual Statistics
 
Sims led all scorers with 28 points as he made 8 of 13 field goals, including 3 of 6 three-point attempts.  Sims also made 9 of 11 free throw tries.
 
Jackson was the only other Bobcat in double figures as he finished with 14 points.
 
John Ruffin (Chicago) added nine points and had a game-high seven rebounds.  Jackson added six boards and had a game-high four blocked shots.

 
McGary dished out a team-high three assists and three steals.

BAKER GAME BOOK
 
Upcoming Games
 
On Saturday, Peru State will host Central Methodist University in the National Basketball Coaches Association Coaches versus Cancer Suits and Sneakers contest.  Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. or approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the women's game.
 
Presently, Central Methodist is 13-5 overall and 5-3 in the Heart – just one game ahead of the Bobcats in the conference standings.
 
Next week, Peru State will host the Benedictine College Ravens on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. and then travel to Springfield, Mo., on Saturday to take on the Evangel University Crusaders at 4 p.m.