(Peru, Neb.) – After trailing by as many as 13 late in the contest, a valiant rally by the Peru State men's basketball team fell short as the Bobcats fell 82-79 at Central Methodist (Mo.) Monday night.
Central Methodist (CMU) improved to 9-6 overall and 6-5 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart). The 'Cats fell to 5-10 on the season and are now 4-7 in conference play.
Rashad Brackeen hits a jumper late in the game.
Brackeen finished with a game-high 21 points.
First Half Action
The Eagles jumped to a 9-0 lead before
Justin Neyland (Council Bluffs, Iowa) finally put the Bobcats on the board with a trey at the 14:26 mark coming off an assist from
Marley Biyendolo (Melbourne, Australia).
Peru State would eventually tie the contest at 20-20 after
Rashad Brackeen (Oakland, Calif.) drained a trey off an assist from
Allias Roberts-Burnett (Joliet, Ill.) with 4:13 left in the first half. After the Eagles regained the lead with a bucket,
Matej Delinac (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) hit a trey to give Peru State its first lead of the game at 23-22 with 2:56 left in the first 20 minutes.
The game would be tied three more times late in the first half before CMU scored a bucket with a second left on the clock to put the Eagles up 32-30 at halftime.
Second Half Action
A trey by Delinac started the second half giving Peru State a 33-32 lead at the 18:39 mark.
The 'Cats would go on to build a six-point lead at 46-40 after Brackeen hit a bucket in the paint with 14:13 left in the game. The Eagles would respond with the next seven points to regain the lead at 47-46 before
B.J. Day (Lincoln) would get a jumper in the paint to put the Bobcats back up 48-47 with 11:56 remaining.
A bucket by
Brandon Reed (Omaha) and one of two free throws by Neyland gave Peru State a four-point cushion at 51-47 with 10:52 left in the contest. The Eagles would come back with another run of eight points and went up 55-51 before
Brandon Eboigbodin (Nashville) stopped the run with a bucket in the paint with 8:37 left on the clock.
CMU would go on to build their lead up to 13 at 74-61 with just 3:35 left before the 'Cats would start their rally. A pair of free throws by Eboigbodin and a bucket by Roberts-Burnett cut the lead to single-digits at 74-65 before the Eagles would get a pair of free throws.
After the Eagles led again by 11 later at 78-67, Peru State would score the next seven points. A free throw by Biyendolo was followed by a bucket by Eboigbodin to make it 78-70. Neyland would then hit a pair of free throws and then grabbed a steal which he took to the hoop to make it 78-74 with 1:18 left.
Brandon Eboigbodin swats away an Eagle shot. He
finished the game with eight points and nine boards.
CMU would make one of two free throws before Brackeen would get a bucket in the paint to cut the lead to three. The teams would trade free throws before the final 82-79 victory for the Eagles.
CENTRAL METHODIST GAME BOOK
Team Statistics
CMU made 27 of 58 field goals for 46.6% including hitting 5 of 20 from behind the arc for 25%. At the free throw line, the Eagles made 23 of 35 for 65.7%. Peru State made 28 of 65 field goal tries for 43.1% while making 7 of 25 three-pointers for 28%. At the charity stripe, the Bobcats made 16 of 24 for 66.7%.
The Eagles had a slight rebounding edge at 39-33. Both teams had 15 assists in the contest. The turnovers were nearly even as the 'Cats had 13 while the Eagles had one more. The Bobcats blocked three Eagle field goals. Both teams grabbed four steals.
Individual Statistics
Only Brackeen finished in double figures for Peru State as he scored a game-high 21 points. Biyendolo and Neyland each scored nine points while three 'Cats added eight – Eboigbodin, Delinac, and Roberts-Burnett.
Eboigbodin had a team-high nine boards while
Paulius Sakinis (Klaipeda, Lithuania) finished with five boards. Eboigbodin also had a game- and team-high five assists while Brackeen dished out three.
Sakinis blocked two shots with Eboigbodin added one. Brackeen and Neyland were each credited with two steals.
Upcoming Games
Peru State has two more Heart contests this week. On Thursday, the 'Cats will travel to take on another set of Eagles, this time in Kansas City, Mo., against Avila, at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles are currently 2-13 overall and 2-9 in conference play.
On Saturday, the Bobcats will host Mount Mercy (Iowa) at 2 p.m. in the Al Wheeler Activity Center. The newcomers to the league are 8-6 on the season and 7-4 in the Heart.
