(Peru, Neb.) – The Bobcat men's basketball team had hot hands in the first half as they shot 52.6% from the floor on their way to an 18-point halftime lead. Peru State went on to win 102-73 over the visiting Culver-Stockton (Mo.) College Wildcats Saturday afternoon in the Al Wheeler Activity Center.
With the win, the Bobcats improved to 15-8 overall and 12-4 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Culver-Stockton fell to 9-15 overall and 5-11 in conference play.
As Peru State won, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) University defeated league-leading William Penn University on MidAmerica Nazarene's home court to force a three-way tie at the top of the Heart between the three teams.
Kris Frazier gets a blocked shot late in the game.
Frazier finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. First Half Action Kris Frazier (Cleveland) put the Bobcats on the scoreboard first off an assist from
Rich Shepherd (Greenville, N.C.). A
Corday Sims (Chicago) bucket made it 4-0 before Culver-Stockton got on the scoreboard. The teams would trade buckets before a basket by
Riak Bol (Omaha) off an assist from Sims put the Bobcats up by six at 12-6 with 16:15 left in the first half.
Peru State's first double-digit lead came at 20-10 after Sims had made a pair of free throws at the 12:23 mark in the half. Sims would follow with a trey to extend the lead to 13 on the next possession. Later,
Darwin Ellis (Brooklyn, N.Y.) would dish an assist to Sims who would hit another triple and the Bobcats would lead 28-13 with 9:59 left in the first 20 minutes.
The Wildcats would fight their way back into the game and close the gap to four at 34-30 with just over five minutes left in the half. Unfortunately for Culver-Stockton, that would be their last score of the first 20 minutes as Peru State outscored the Wildcats 14-0 to end the half with Shepherd hitting a trey as the seconds ticked off the clock on an assist from Ellis. At the end of the first half, the Bobcats led 48-30.
Second Half Action Bol would start the scoring in the second half on an assist from Sims giving Peru State its first 20-point lead.
The Bobcats would extend their lead to 65-36 when Ellis hit a trey on an assist from
Quantice Hunter (Chicago) with 14:30 remaining in the game. Later, Peru State would have its first 30-point advantage when Sims pulled down an offensive rebound and put it back in for the score making it 76-45 at the 10:53 mark in the second half.
Peru State would have its largest lead of 37 at 101-64 after
Connor Dukes (Plattsmouth) nailed a three-pointer off an assist from
Jeff Neverson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 2:49 to go in the game. The Wildcats would hit some buckets down the stretch to make the final score 102-73.
Riak Bol grabs an offensive rebound and puts in back in
for a score. Bol finished with 17 points.CULVER-STOCKTON GAME BOOK Team Statistics For the game, Peru State made 37 of 76 field goals for 48.7% which included an almost-as-good percentage from behind the arc. The Bobcats made 12 of 25 from long range for 48%. At the free throw line, Peru State went 16 of 20 for 80%. Culver-Stockton made 27 of 71 field goals for 38% and actually shot better from three-point range making 13 of 29 for 44.8%. At the charity stripe, the Wildcats made 6 of 11 for 54.5%.
Peru State held a big rebounding advantage as they grabbed 54 boards compared to 29 for the Wildcats. Both teams dished out 13 assists and were nearly equal in turnovers as Culver-Stockton had one more error as they had 14 miscues. The Bobcats swatted away four Wildcat shots while Culver-Stockton finished with two blocked shots. Peru State doubled up the Wildcats in steals as the Bobcats finished with eight.
Individual Statistics Sims finished with a season-high 37 points on 13 of 21 shooting which included making 5 of 8 from long range and hitting all six free throw attempts. Bol added 17 points on 6 of 7 shooting and making all five of his free throws. Frazier and Ellis also were in double figures as they added 13 and 11 respectively. All of the Bobcats suiting up scored with Dukes next on the list as he hit all three of his tries from long range to add nine points.
Sims and Frazier both finished with double-doubles as Sims had a game-high 13 boards with Frazier grabbing 11 rebounds. Shepherd and Sims led the team with a game-high three assists.
Josh Varney (Cape Coral, Fla.) blocked two shots with Frazier and Hunter each adding one. Frazier and
Jamar Cannon (Inglewood, Calif.) each had two game-high steals.
Corday Sims grabs one of his game-high 13
rebounds with Josh Varney with him. Sims
added a game-high 37 points. Upcoming Games Peru State will play its last non-conference game of the season when they travel to Omaha Monday night to take on the Grace University Royals at 7 p.m. The Royals are currently 12-13 and are coming off an 87-83 win over Waldorf College this past Friday night.
While all games are big, the biggest game of the season so far will be Wednesday night when the Bobcats host MidAmerica Nazarene at 7:30 p.m. The winner of this one will have at least a share of the lead at the end of the night. Peru State took a 97-94 overtime win over the Pioneers in Olathe, Kan., back on January 6. The Pioneers have won nine in a row to move into the three-way tie at the top of the Heart.
The Peru State Student Athlete Advisory Council realizes the importance of the contest and is sponsoring a "Black-Out" night for both the women's and men's games. The group hopes all Bobcat fans will be dressed in black to support the teams.
On Saturday, the Bobcats will travel to Marshall, Mo., to face the Missouri Valley College Vikings. Currently, the Vikings are 12-12 on the season and 7-9 in conference play. Peru State defeated Missouri Valley back in January 109-86 on their home court.
