(Peru, Neb.) – The Bobcats outscored the visiting #16 NAIA DI Park (Mo.) Pirates Tuesday night by eight points. This allowed Peru State to pick up their first win of the season as they topped the Pirates 75-69 in a battle of pre-season teams who were receiving votes.
 
With the win, the 'Cats improved to 1-2 while the Pirates fell to 2-1. Park had previously defeated two of Peru State's Heart conference opponents – Grand View (Iowa) and MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.).
 
First Half Action
 
The first half was close throughout as there were five ties and eight lead changes. The largest lead was six points by the Bobcats when it was 13-7.
 
Park scored the first points of the game, but the 'Cats came right back to tie it on a bucket by Brandon Eboigbodin (Nashville) who was fouled on the play. After the free throw miss, Matej Delinac (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) grabbed the offensive rebound for the Bobcats. Later, Rashad Brackeen (Oakland, Calif.) hit a three-pointer coming off an assist from Marley Biyendolo (Melbourne, Australia) to put Peru State up 5-2 at the 18:20 mark.
After the Pirates come back to tie it at 5-5, the Bobcats went on an 8-2 run to move to their largest lead of 13-7 after Brackeen hit a bucket with 14:36 left in the half.
 
Park would go on a run of their own of 12-2 to lead 19-15 with just over ten minutes left in the first half. A trey by Brackeen and then a pair of free throws by Biyendolo put the Bobcats back up 20-19 at the 8:01 mark.
 
The Pirates would move out to a 27-22 advantage with 5:54 left in the half before a bucket by Delinac and two hoops from Eboigbodin put the 'Cats back up 28-27 with just over five minutes left. The teams would trade hoops the rest of the way with Park getting a three-pointer with a couple of seconds left in the half to lead 35-33.

 
Second Half Action
 
Park would maintain their lead early in the second half and led by as many as seven at 45-38 with 14:18 left in the game. The 'Cats would slowly cut into the lead and with 12:46 remaining, a field goal by Biyendolo on an assist from Delinac put Peru State on top 48-47.
 
The Bobcats would never trail after that point although Park would get within one on numerous occasions before eventually tying it at 67-67 with 1:36 left in the contest.
 
A basket by Lyle Hexom (Omaha) off an assist from Brackeen with 1:04 left put the Bobcats in the lead for good. Near the end, Hexom hit a pair of free throws as did Brackeen to give the 'Cats the 75-69 victory.

PARK GAME BOOK
 
Team Statistics
 
Both teams shot the ball well as the Pirates finished the game making 29 of 64 for 45.3% which included making 5 of 24 from long range for 20.8%. Peru State made 25 of 59 for 42.4% and also made five from behind the arc while shooting 26.3%. The Bobcats fared better from the charity stripe making 20 of 26 for 76.9% while the Pirates made just 6 of 10 for 60%.
 
The big difference in the game came in rebounding as Peru State grabbed 44 boards compared to 21 for the Pirates.
 
Peru State dished out 13 assists compared to 12 for Park. The 'Cats did have more turnovers – 26 compared to 15 for the Pirates. Park blocked five shots while the Bobcats blocked one. The steals were nearly even as Park finished with 11 while Peru State stole ten.
 
Individual Statistics
 

Five Bobcats finished in double figures and were led by Brackeen who finished with a game-high 22 points. Biyendolo finished with 15 while Delinac added 14. Hexom had 13 while Eboigbodin added ten.
 
Hexom and Eboigbodin finished with double-doubles as they grabbed 11 and ten rebounds respectively. Brackeen dished out four assists while Biyendolo had three and Eboigbodin and Delinac each finished with two.
 
Eboigbodin had the lone blocked shot for Peru State and also shared game-high honors with four steals with Hexom.
 
Upcoming Games
 
The Bobcats will begin Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) play this Saturday due to the addition of two more teams and playing a full home-and-away series with each of the 13 other teams. Evangel (Mo.) will be Saturday's opponent for a game which will begin at approximately 4 p.m. The Crusaders began play Tuesday night and lost at home to the College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 83-63.
 
Next Wednesday, the 'Cats will host Missouri Valley at 7:30 p.m. The Vikings are 1-1 on the season and will face Culver-Stockton (Mo.) Saturday before heading to Peru next week.