(Peru, Neb.) – The Peru State men's basketball team matched their longest winning streak of the season by winning their fourth straight Wednesday night. The Bobcats defeated the Benedictine College Ravens 87-80 in the Al Wheeler Activity Center on the Peru State campus.
With the win, the 'Cats improved to 13-7 overall and are now 10-3 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference which keeps the team solely in second place in the 12-team league. Benedictine fell to 12-7 overall and 6-7 in the Heart and are in a tie for sixth.
First Half Action The Ravens scored the first points of the game and
Darwin Ellis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) quickly countered with a two-pointer at the 19:06 mark to tie the game.
Quantice Hunter (Chicago) followed with a bucket only to see Benedictine tie it with 17:58 remaining in the first 20 minutes. That would be the last time the game was tied as Ellis drained a trey on Peru State's next possession and the Bobcats led the rest of the game.
Quantice Hunter helped lead the offense
for Peru State with 14 points and grabbed
three steals The Bobcats had their first ten-point lead of the contest at the 12:32 mark when
Rich Shepherd (Greenville, N.C.) hit a trey and was fouled on the play. After a video review, Shepherd hit the free throw for the uncommon four-point play making the score 21-11. The Ravens cut the deficit back to seven at 23-16 before
Jamar Cannon (Inglewood, Calif.) hit a two-pointer with ten minutes left in the first half.
Cannon later followed up with a trey at the 8:04 mark on an assist from Ellis and Peru State led 28-16 at that point. The Bobcats had their largest lead of the first half after
Corday Sims (Chicago) hit a pair of free throws making the score 37-23 with 3:44 remaining in the first 20 minutes.
With 30 seconds left in the half, Benedictine had closed to within seven at 40-33 before Shepherd drained a three-pointer off an assist from Sims to give Peru State a 43-33 lead at halftime.
Second Half Action Benedictine scored the first seven points of the second half and suddenly it was a tight ballgame.
Kris Frazier (Cleveland) scored a bucket with 17:34 left in the game to stop the Raven run. After Benedictine made one of two free throws, the Bobcats went on a run of their own.
Ellis hit a trey at the 17:03 mark and it was followed with a bucket by Sims. Later, Sims hit a trey on an assist from Ellis and the 'Cats were back up by 12 at 53-41 with 16:06 remaining. Benedictine still had fight left in them as the Ravens narrowed the gap to 53-49 with 14:38 left.
Peru State would go on a 16-0 run which started with Cannon trey off an assist from Hunter and ended with a Hunter trey. The 'Cats led 69-49 with 11:40 to go in the game and to most of the fans, it appeared Peru State had the game in hand.
Coach Moody's Ravens had another thought as they outscored Peru State 27 to 10 over the next nine minutes go get within three at 79-76 at the 2:47 mark. A Frazier field goal on an assist from Hunter gave Peru State a five-point cushion. The Ravens would get a bucket and then made a pair of free throws and now the game was 81-80 with 1:41 left.
Kris Frazier gets one of his two
blocked shots. Frazier had a key
block late in the game. After a Benedictine timeout, Sims was fouled and hit a pair of free throws to make it 83-80 with 1:28 left. After a Raven missed bucket, the Bobcats called timeout. A missed Peru State bucket led to another Raven attempt which was thwarted by an outstanding block by Frazier. Hunter grabbed the rebound and dished the ball to Sims who was quickly fouled. Sims hit both free throws and the 'Cats led 85-80 with 25 seconds left.
The Ravens would miss their field goal attempt and Hunter grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Hunter went to the line and made both free throws which would prove to be the final points of the game.
BENEDICTINE GAME BOOK Team Statistics Both teams shot the ball well. Peru State made 29 of 57 field goals for 50.9% including an excellent 12 of 29 from long range for 41.4%. At the free throw line, the Bobcats made 17 of 29 for 73.9%. The Ravens made 30 of 62 field goals for 48.4% and were almost as good from behind the arc as they made 12 of 26 for 46.2%. At the charity stripe, Benedictine made 8 of 11 tries for 72.7%.
The 'Cats had a slight rebounding edge as they grabbed 33 rebounds compared to Benedictine's 28. Peru State dished out 16 assists while the Ravens had 13. Both teams had 13 turnovers. The Ravens grabbed six steals while Peru State had four. The Bobcats blocked three shots in the game.
Individual Statistics Three 'Cats finished in double figures with Sims leading the way with a game-high 25 points. Hunter added 14 while Cannon finished with 13. All nine Bobcats playing in the game were in the scoring column.
Sims also had a game-high eight rebounds with Frazier and Hunter each grabbing six. Hunter dished out four assists with Ellis and Sims each adding three assists. Hunter also led the team with three steals with Shepherd being credited with one. Frazier blocked two shots while
Jeff Neverson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) adding one.
Corday Sims goes for two of his
game-high 25 points Upcoming Games While every game is a big game at this time of the season, perhaps the biggest game to this point will be this coming Saturday's contest with the visiting William Penn University Statesmen. Currently, the Statesmen are sixth-ranked and have an 18-3 record with an 11-2 mark in conference action – just one game ahead of the Bobcats. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.
The Saturday game will be Peru State's Coaches versus Cancer Suits and Sneakers game. There will be no admission taken, but a free will donation will be sent to the American Cancer Society.
Next Wednesday, the Bobcats are scheduled to take on Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, at 7:30 p.m. The Yellowjackets have lost three in a row and are 12-9 overall and 7-6 in conference play.
