(Peru, Neb.) – A 9-2 run with less than two minutes left in the game propelled the William Penn (WPU) Statesmen to an 88-81 victory over Peru State in Peru Monday night.
 
With the win, the third-ranked Statesmen improved to 8-1 on the season and 4-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart). Peru State fell to 4-4 on the year and are 3-2 now in conference play.
 
First Half Action
 
Lyle Hexom (Omaha) started the game with a bucket in the paint to give Peru State the early 2-0 lead with 19:18 left in the first half. After WPU nailed a three to gain the lead, Matej Delinac (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) came back with a trey of his own to put Peru State up 5-3 at the 18:01 mark. The Statesmen would tie it at 5-5 and eventually go to a 6-5 lead before Marley Biyendolo (Melbourne, Australia) would get a field goal to give Peru State its last lead for about ten minutes as Peru State was up 7-6 with 17:11 left in the first 20 minutes.

 
William Penn would go on a 22-8 run to have its biggest lead of the first half at 28-15 with 11:17 to go. Peru State would slowly fight its way back to eventually go back in the lead after Brandon Eboigbodin (Nashville) grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up to give the 'Cats a 32-31 lead with just under five minutes left in the half. After the Statesmen hit a pair of free throws to regain the lead, Rashad Brackeen (Oakland, Calif.) hit a bucket in the paint to put the Bobcats back up 34-33. Brackeen then would come back with a trey to extend the lead to four points at 37-33.
 
Later, Brackeen would hit a pair of free throws to give Peru State its largest lead of the half at 43-35 with 1:45 left. The Statesmen would cut into the lead before the half ended with the Bobcats leading 43-38.
 
Second Half Action
 
After the teams traded buckets early in the second half, Brackeen would hit back-to-back treys to give the Bobcats their largest lead of the game at 59-48 with 15:53 remaining in the contest. Peru State would hold onto the lead until William Penn fought their way back to take a 69-68 lead with 6:45 to go in the game.
 
The teams would again trade buckets until the 'Cats would again go up by three after Delinac hit a pair of free throws to make it 77-74 with 3:07 remaining. The Statesmen would come back with a trey to tie and then go ahead with a pair of free throws.

 
Paulius Sakinis (Klaipeda, Lithuania) would grab an offensive rebound and put it back in to tie the game at 79-79 with 1:45 left. After the tie, WPU would score the next seven points before Brackeen would get Peru State back on the board to make it 86-81 with 13 seconds left.
 
The Statesmen would close out the game with a pair of free throws for the seven-point win.

WILLIAM PENN GAME BOOK
 
Team Statistics
 
Both teams shot the ball fairly well as the Statesmen made 31 of 69 field goal attempts for 44.9% including making 11 of 28 from behind the arc for 39.3%. At the free throw line, WPU made 15 of 23 for 65.2%. Peru State made 30 of 74 field goal tries for 40.5% and hit 12 of 31 treys for 38.7%. At the charity stripe, the 'Cats made 9 of 12 charity tries for 75%.
 
The Statesmen held a slight rebounding edge at 40 to 37. WPU dished out 15 assists compared to ten for the Bobcats. William Penn had 15 assists while the 'Cats had just ten.
 
WPU blocked five shots while Peru State had four. Both teams finished with seven steals.
 
Individual Statistics
 
Three Bobcats finished in double figures and were led by Brackeen with 26 points on 9 of 20 shooting from the floor. Hexom added 19 points while Delinac finished with 16.
 
Delinac finished with a double-double as he grabbed ten rebounds as did Eboigbodin.

 
Brackeen dished out three assists while Biyendolo and Eboigbodin each had two. Hexom blocked three shots while Sakinis was credited with one. Anthony Richardson (Schenectady, N.Y.) led the team with three steals while Hexom was credited with two.
 
Upcoming Games
 
The Bobcats will have four games on the docket before the holiday break. They will host Grand View (Iowa) this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Vikings are 5-2 overall and are 4-1 in the Heart and are coming off a win over ranked MidAmerica Nazarene on Monday night at home.
 
On Saturday, the 'Cats will face Benedictine in Atchison, Kan., at 4 p.m. The Ravens are 6-2 overall and are 4-1 in the conference having lost at home Monday night to Central Methodist (Mo.).
 
Peru State will play a non-conference game on Tuesday, Dec. 6, when they travel to Bismarck, N.D. to take on NCAA DII University of Mary. The Marauders are currently 2-4. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
For their final game before the winter break, Peru State will host Heart newcomer Clarke (Iowa) at 2 p.m. on Dec. 10. The Crusaders are presently 3-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play having defeated Culver-Stockton Monday evening.
 
On Dec. 10, the Fantastic Flyers of Gary's Tumbling in Shenandoah, Iowa, will perform at halftime of both the women and men's games.