(Peru, Neb.) – If you would have asked most basketball prognosticators about the Peru State-Avila men's basketball game, they would not have predicted the outcome for Saturday's game. Most would have indicated it would be a close contest. They would have been wrong.
The Bobcats built a 25-point lead at halftime and went on to win 94-58 in one of their more complete games of the season.
Kris Frazier goes for two of his 13 points.
Frazier grabbed a game-high
15 rebounds. With the win, Peru State kept itself in a spot for the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular-season title as they improved to 19-9 overall and 15-5 in the conference. The Bobcats are still tied with William Penn (Iowa) University in second – one game behind league-leading MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) University. The 'Cats did insure themselves of at least one home game in the post-season. The Eagles fell to 18-10 and 11-9 in the Heart.
First Half Action The Eagles did score the first points of the game, but Peru State responded with a pair of free throws by
Kris Frazier (Cleveland) to tie the game with 19:10 left in the first half. An old-fashioned three-point play by
Quantice Hunter (Chicago) would later put the 'Cats up for good at 5-2 with 18:21 remaining in the first 20 minutes.
With 10:08 to go in the first half, the Bobcats took their first double-digit lead as
Corday Sims (Chicago) hit a bucket to make it 27-17. The Eagles would continue to fight and were back within seven at 30-23 before Sims would complete a three-point play to make it 33-23 with 5:28 to go.
Corday Sims shoots for two of his game-
high 34 points. Sims added
ten rebounds.Later, Peru State would increase its lead to 19 at 44-25 after
Jeff Neverson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) would drain a trey off an assist from
Jamar Cannon (Inglewood, Calif.) with 2:31 left in the first 20 minutes. The Bobcats' first 20-point advantage came after Neverson hit a pair of free throws to make it 46-26 with 2:04 left.
Rich Shepherd (Greenville, N.C.) would hit a three-pointer on an assist from Neverson to increase the lead to 49-26. Frazier would add a bucket before the half ended with Peru State leading 51-26.
Second Half Action After the Eagles scored the first bucket of the second half, Frazier would hit a field goal on an assist from
Darwin Ellis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to make it 53-28 at the 19:01 mark.
The Bobcats' first 30-point lead came after Sims drained a three-pointer with 15:01 left in the contest and Peru State led 65-33 at that point.
Peru State's largest lead came at the 12:22 mark when Shepherd drained a trey to put the score at 73-35. Avila would never get back under 30 as the teams basically traded buckets the rest of the contest.
Quantice Hunter blocks a shot early in the gameAVILA GAME BOOK Team Statistics The Bobcats had another good shooting night as they made 33 of 64 field goals for 51.6%. Peru State was almost as good from behind the arc as they hit 10 of 20 for 50%. At the free throw line, the 'Cats made 18 of 25 for 72%. Avila made just 22 of 72 field goals for 30.6% which included making just 1 of 23 from long range for .043%. The Eagles did make 13 of 18 free throws for 72.2%.
Peru State held an advantage in rebounding as they grabbed 46 compared to 37 for Avila. The Bobcats had ten assists while Avila had seven. The 'Cats blocked four Eagle shots. Both teams had more turnovers than they would like as Avila committed 18 while Peru State had 16. The Bobcats nabbed 11 steals while the Eagles had six.
Individual Statistics Sims finished the contest with a game-high 34 points – his fourth game in a row over 30 points. Sims made 11 of 17 field goals, including making 6 of 8 from long range. He was 6 of 7 at the free throw line. Frazier was the only other Bobcat in double figures as he finished with 13 points. Hunter and Neverson both finished one shy of double figures.
Frazier and Sims both finished with double-doubles as Frazier had a game-high 15 boards while Sims grabbed ten. Neverson added eight rebounds.
Cannon dished out a game-high three assists with Neverson contributing two.
Riak Bol (Omaha), Frazier, Hunter, and Neverson each blocked one shot. Ellis grabbed three steals with
Connor Dukes (Plattsmouth), Darin Minniefield (Houston), and Neverson each nabbing two.
The Bobcat enjoyed both of the games and
helped cheer on his teams Upcoming Games Peru State has two games remaining in regular season. They will face Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan., Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. The Wildcats are one of the Bobcats' five conference losses as they topped Peru State 76-70 on January 14.
The Bobcats' final home regular-season game will be Saturday, Feb. 27. Evangel University (Mo.) will be the visiting team for a 4 p.m. contest. Peru State defeated the Crusaders on Jan. 11 96-76 in Springfield.
Saturday's game will be Senior Day which will be combined with a Military Appreciation and Scout Day. All military personnel showing the appropriate identification and their families will be guests of Peru State. All scouts, both boys and girls, and their leaders in uniform will be admitted free as well.
Peru State's Student Athlete Advisory Council, in conjunction with the day's activities, will be hosting a Red, White, and Blue Day. Anyone wearing those colors will be given a ticket for a drawing for a prize package valued at over $150. Additional tickets may be purchased for an opportunity to win as well.
With their win on Saturday, Peru State assured themselves of at least one home game in the Heart's post-season tournament. That first game will be played on Wednesday, March 2, at 7 p.m. with an opponent yet to be determined.
Should the Bobcats win out and then win on March 2, there is a good possibility they would be hosting a semi-final game on Friday, March 4, at 7 p.m.
