(Peru, Neb.) – With a pair of wins this past week, the Bobcat men's basketball team finds itself it sole possession of second place in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Peru State topped #19 MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) in Olathe, Kan., on Wednesday night in overtime 97-94. Then, on Saturday, the 'Cats toppled Missouri Valley College (MVC) 109-86 on their home court.
With the two wins, the Bobcats improved to 8-6 overall and 5-2 in the Heart, just one game behind the conference-leading William Penn Statesmen.
MidAmerica Nazarene Game Highlights Peru State trailed early in the first part of the game against the Pioneers and was down by as many as seven at 12-5 with 13:37 left in the half. The Bobcats eventually fought their way back to take the lead at 15-14 after
Jamar Cannon (Inglewood, Calif.) drained a trey with 11:20 remaining in the first 20 minutes. MNU would again lead by seven at 24-17 with 9:16 left in the half before the 'Cats would fight back to knot it up at 26-26 at the 6:06 mark.
Corday Sims led Peru
State in both wins with
20-point+ games After being down 30-29, the Bobcats outscored MNU 14-3 to lead by ten at 43-33 with 58 ticks left on the first half clock. The Pioneers would knock down a bucket before the half ended with Peru State leading 43-35.
The 'Cats would stretch their lead to 13 with 12:26 left in the game at 61-48. Peru State still had a double-digit lead at 71-60 with 9:24 remaining before MNU would slowly climb back into the contest. The Pioneers eventually tied the contest at 80-80 with 2:29 to go.
A free throw by
Riak Bol (Omaha) and then a bucket by Bol off an assist from
Darwin Ellis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) put the 'Cats back up 83-80 with 1:35 left in regulation. The Pioneers would eventually tie it and had a chance to win it in regulation, but missed a free throw near the end as the first 40 minutes ended in an 83-83 tie.
Early in overtime, MNU took an early lead at 89-86 with 3:40 to go. A pair of free throws by Bol cut it to one. On the Pioneers' next possession,
Corday Sims (Chicago) grabbed a defensive rebound and was then fouled. Sims hit a pair of free throws to put Peru State into the lead at 90-89 with 3:02 left. Ellis made a bucket to stretch the Bobcat lead to three at 92-89.
Later, MNU would tie the game at 94-94 with 15 seconds left. With two seconds left in overtime, Sims hit a three-pointer to give the Bobcats the 97-94 win over the rated Pioneers.
MNU Game Team Statistics The Pioneers actually shot the ball better than Peru State in all three categories. MNU made 31 of 70 field goals for 44.3% including making 7 of 16 from long range for 43.8%. At the free throw line, the Pioneers connected on 25 of 39 tries for 64.1%.
Peru State made 32 of 79 field goals for 42.5% and hit 10 of 29 treys for 34.5%. At the charity stripe, the Bobcats made 23 of 37 for 62.2%.
The 'Cats held the rebounding edge as they grabbed 54 boards while MNU had 44. The Pioneers had a slight edge in assists as they dished out 22 while Peru State finished with 18. Each team had 19 turnovers.
Riak Bol had ten
rebounds in win over
MNU and six over MVC MNU blocked six shots compared to the Bobcats' four and doubled the number of steals as the Pioneers had 12 with Peru State finishing with six.
MNU Individual Statistics Three Bobcats finished in double figures as with Sims leading the way with 23 points. Ellis added 20 with
Jeff Neverson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) adding 15.
Bol led the team with ten rebounds while Sims was one short of having a double-double as he grabbed nine.
Josh Varney (Cape Coral, Fla.) also added nine boards.
Ellis dished out six assists with Varney finishing with four. Bol,
Rich Shepherd (Greenville, N.C.), Varney, and
Kris Frazier (Cleveland) each had one blocked shot. Ellis led the team with three steals.
MIDAMERICA NAZARENE GAME BOOK
Missouri Valley Game Highlights After trailing early in the first half, the Bobcats took the lead at 24-22 on a
Connor Dukes'
(Plattsmouth) trey with 8:17 left in the first half. MVC would tie it at 30-30 with five minutes left in the first 20 minutes but that would be as close as the Vikings would be in the rest of the game. Peru State led 43-35 after the first 20 minutes.
The Vikings were still within single digits at the 13:47 mark as they trailed just by nine at 62-53. Sims would complete an old-fashioned three-point play on the next possession and Peru State would lead by double digits the rest of the contest.
The Bobcats led by as many as 28 at 105-77 as Shepherd made a pair of free throws with 1:18 left in the game.
MVC Team Statistics Peru State had a good shooting night in all categories. The 'Cats made 37 of 76 field goals for 48.7% which included making 14 of 32 from long range for 43.8%. At the free throw line, the Bobcats made 21 of 25 for 84%. The Vikings hit 29 of 75 field goals for 38.7% and connected on 6 of 18 treys for 33.3%. Mo Valley hit 22 of 25 charity tries for 88%.
Darwin Ellis scored in
double figures in both
wins for Peru State The Bobcats held a big rebounding edge as they finished with 47 boards compared to 32 for Missouri Valley. Peru State tripled up the Vikings in assists as they dished out 21 dimes compared to MVC's seven. The Bobcats did have a few more turnovers, 16, compared to 11 for the Vikings. Peru State blocked ten shots on the afternoon while Mo Valley had two. The Vikings stole 12 balls from Peru State while the 'Cats finished the game with seven.
MVC Individual Statistics Six Bobcats finished in double figures with Sims leading the way with a game-high 25 points. Cannon added 16 with Bol finishing with 14.
Quantice Hunter (Chicago) and Shepherd both had 13 while Ellis contributed 11.
Sims finished the game with a double-double as he grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. Ellis just missed a double-double as he had nine boards. Bol and Hunter each had six rebounds.
Ellis dished out a game-high seven assists while Hunter added five. Frazier block five shots while Bol blocking three. Sims, Cannon, and Frazier each had two steals.
MISSOURI VALLEY GAME BOOK Upcoming Games Peru State has a busy schedule this week as they will play three conference games. On Monday, the 'Cats will travel to Springfield, Mo., to take on Evangel University at 7:30 p.m. Currently, the Crusaders are 3-12 and 2-5 in the Heart, but are coming off an upset win on the road over league-leading William Penn on Saturday.
The Bobcats will be at home on Thursday night and will host Baker University at 7:30 p.m. Presently, the Wildcats are 7-7 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
The 'Cats will finish the week in Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday when they play Avila University. The Eagles are 10-4 overall and 4-3 in the Heart and have won two in a row in conference play, including a win over Evangel.
