(Peru, Neb.) – With a better position in the Heart post-season tournament on the line, the Peru State men's basketball team won their third straight game on Saturday. The Bobcats took down Baker in Baldwin City, Kan., Saturday afternoon with a 98-95 overtime win.
 
With the win, Peru State improved to 12-16 overall and are now 11-13 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. The win assures the Bobcats a spot in the Heart post-season tournament which will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Baker fell to 14-14 overall and are also 11-13 in conference play. Presently, the two teams are tied with Missouri Valley for eighth in the Heart with two games remaining. The top ten teams will participate in the postseason tournament.
 
First Half Action
 

The Bobcats jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the contest. Noah Vasa (Nebraska City) hit a bucket to start things off. Later, Marley Biyendolo (Melbourne, Australia) would grab an offensive rebound and put it back up to make it 4-0 with 18:27 left in the first half. Brandon Eboigbodin (Nashville) hit a pair of free throws before Rashad Brackeen (Oakland, Calif.) drained a trey to put Peru State up 9-0.
 
Baker would cut the lead down to three at 9-6 before the Bobcats would work on extending their lead to ten at 21-11 after Paulius Sakinis (Klaipeda, Lithuania) would get a pair of free throws with12:19 left in the half.
 
Peru State would maintain the lead until the 5:35 mark when Baker hit a bucket to gain their first lead of the half at 32-31. The teams would trade points the rest of the half with Biyendolo hitting a pair of free throws to tie the game up at halftime at 39-39.
 
Second Half Action
 
The early part of the second half saw the game tied three times before Peru State slowly built a seven-point lead at 61-54 after Matej Delinac (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) hit a trey.
 
Later, Peru State would lead by as many as 14 at 73-59 when Brackeen nailed a trey off an assist from Sakinis with 6:41 left in regulation.
 
The Wildcats had not given up even when the Bobcats still led by ten at 79-69 with just over three minutes left in the game. Baker fought back and tied it with a pair of free throws with three seconds on the clock to tie it at 79-79 and force overtime.

BAKER GAME BOOK
 
Overtime Action
 

Brackeen opened the extra five minutes with a trey and Peru State never trailed in the extended period. The Bobcats led by as many as seven at 91-84 after another Brackeen three-pointer with 1:43 left.
 
Baker did closed within two at 94-92 with 27 seconds left before Biyendolo hit four consecutive free throws. The Wildcats hit a trey with three seconds left to make the final score 98-95.
 
Team Statistics
 
The two teams both shot the ball well on Saturday. Peru State made 31 of 61 field goal tries for 50.8% including making one-half of their 26 three-point tries. The Bobcats made 23 of 30 free throws for 76.7%. Baker made 28 of 58 field goals for 48.3% and connected on 8 of 22 from long range for 36.4%. At the charity stripe, the Wildcats made 31 of 39 for 79.5%.
 
Baker held a slight rebounding edge 37-31. Both teams dished out ten assists. The Wildcats had a few more turnovers than Peru State as they finished with 17 while the Bobcats had 13. Baker blocked three shots with Peru State being credited with one. The Wildcats grabbed eight steals with the Bobcats finishing with six.
 
Individual Statistics
 
Four Bobcats finished in double figures with Brackeen leading the way with a game-high 31 points on 10 of 20 shooting including making 7 of 14 from long range. Biyendolo added 19 points while Delinac finished with 12. Allias Roberts-Burnett (Long Beach, Calif.) came off the bench to add 11 points.
 
Biyendolo finished with a double-double as he grabbed a game- and season-high ten rebounds. Brackeen added five boards while Eboigbodin and Delinac each adding four.
 

Eboigbodin led the team with three assists while Brackeen, Sakinis, and Roberts-Burnett each added two assists. Sakinis was credited with Peru State's only block. Brackeen and B.J. Day (Lincoln) each had two steals.
 
Upcoming Games
 
Peru State will look to improve its final Heart regular-season standing with two games remaining. On Wednesday, the Bobcats will host Avila (Mo.) at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles are 5-23 overall and 5-19 in the Heart having won their last two games.
 
On Saturday, the Bobcats will face Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at 4 p.m. The Heart newcomers are 18-9 overall and 17-7 in the conference having won their last four in a row.
 
Mathematically, Peru State could finish as high as seventh or as low as tenth in the Heart regular-season, but would need help to do so. Presently tied with Baker and Missouri Valley, the final two games for all three teams are key as Peru State has split with both teams. Missouri Valley does have the tie breaker over Baker as they swept the Wildcats during the regular season.
 
The first game of post-season will be Tuesday, Feb. 28, with the seventh-seeded team hosting the tenth-seeded team and the eighth-seeded team hosting the ninth-seeded team in play-in games.