(Peru, Neb.) – Despite getting 34 points from their team's leading scorer, the Bobcat men's basketball team could not overcome a 17-point halftime deficit and fell to the William Penn (WPU Statesmen on Saturday in Oskaloosa, Iowa. WPU won 104-86 in a Heart of America Athletic Conference match-up.
With the win, the Statesmen improved to 11-1 overall and remained undefeated in Heart action at 4-0. The Bobcats fell below .500 at 5-6 overall and are 2-2 in conference play.
First Half Action Riak Bol (Omaha) scored the first bucket of the game after he grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in at the 19:41 mark. WPU would score the next four points with Bol making another bucket on an assist from
Quantice Hunter (Chicago) with 18:13 left in the half. Hunter would then give Peru State the lead at 6-4 with a bucket in the paint.
Riak Bol After the Statesmen would go up 10-8,
Darwin Ellis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) would drain a three to make it 11-10 Peru State with 15:44 remaining in the half. For the 'Cats, that would be their last lead in the game as WPU would score the next ten points to lead 20-11 with 13:21 remaining in the half.
Josh Varney (Cape Coral, Fla.) would snap the run with a bucket coming off an assist from
Jamar Cannon (Inglewood, Calif.). WPU would increase their lead to 20 at 44-24, the largest lead of the half for the Statesmen at 4:11 left in the half.
Corday Sims (Chicago) would get a bucket in the paint and then would follow with a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 44-28 with 3:40 to go.
A field goal by Varney after he grabbed an offensive rebound with 46 seconds left in the half cut the WPU lead to 51-37. But, the Statesmen drained a three at the end of the half to lead 54-37.
Second Half Action Peru State would get to within 12 at 61-49 after
Kris Frazier (Cleveland) made a bucket in the paint at the 15:53 mark in the second half. WPU would again go up by 20 at 69-49 with 13:38 left in the game.
Josh Varney The Bobcats would continue to chip away at the lead and again found themselves just down by 12 at 77-65 with 9:42 left in the contest after Sims made a pair of free throws and Hunter made one of two.
That 12-point deficit was as close as Peru State would come in the contest as the Statesmen maintained their double-digit lead the remainder of the half.
WILLIAM PENN GAME BOOK Team Statistics The Statesmen shot 52.7% of their field goals making 39 of 74 which included making 11 of 27 three-point attempts for 40.7%. At the free throw line, WPU was 15 of 27 for 55.6%. Peru State made 28 of 68 tries for 41.2%, but struggled from long range making just 5 of 21 for 23.8%. The Bobcats did far better at the charity stripe than their opponents as they made 25 of 35 tries for 71.4%.
WPU did hold a slight edge in rebounding as they grabbed 46 boards while the Bobcats had 41. Both teams committed 16 turnovers and also had two blocked shots apiece.
Corday Sims Individual Statistics Peru State had four players in double figures and was led by Sims who had a game-high 34 points. Bol added 14 with Varney coming off the bench to score 12. Frazier finished with 11 points.
Sims and Varney each had eight rebounds to lead the 'Cats with Frazier contributing seven.
Hunter and Cannon each dished out four assists with Ellis leading the team with two steals. Frazier blocked two shots.
Upcoming Games The Bobcats just have one more game in 2015. Peru State will travel to face Culver-Stockton in Canton, Mo., this coming Saturday, Dec. 12. Presently, the Wildcats are 5-4 on the year and are 3-1 in the Heart. Culver-Stockton fell at home to Grand View Saturday and will face two non-conference opponents before Peru State comes to town.
The 'Cats will then be off until January 6 when they travel to Olathe, Kan., to take on MidAmerica Nazarene in conference play.
