(Peru, Neb.) – An early lead by the Peru State men's basketball team did not hold up against Grand View Thursday night in Des Moines. The Vikings gained the lead at the 16:44 mark in the first half and never trailed after that point. Grand View went on to win 91-79.
With the win, Grand View improved to 16-5 for the year and are now 15-4 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart). Peru State fell to 9-14 on the season and 8-11 in conference action.
First Half Action
Matej Delinac (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) hit a trey off an assist from
Brandon Eboigbodin (Nashville) to give the 'Cats an early 3-0 lead. Delinac then dished off an assist to
Noah Vasa (Nebraska City) to make it 5-0. A 4-0 run from the Vikings closed the gap to 5-4, but Vasa grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up to make it 7-4 with 17:46 on the first half clock.
Noah Vasa (l) plays defense against a Viking. Vasa
finished the game with three blocked shots.
Back-to-back buckets by the Vikings gave Grand View an 8-7 lead and they never trailed from that point on. Grand View would go on to lead by ten on several different occasions with the last coming at 42-32 with 1:31 left in the half.
Allias Roberts-Burnett (Joliet, Ill.) hit a bucket and then made a pair of free throws to cut that lead to six before Grand View scored the last bucket of the half to lead 44-36.
Second Half Action
The Vikings scored the first eight points of the second half before Eboigbodin scored on an assist from Delinac to stop the run with 17:56 left in the game.
Grand View would lead by as many as 17 at 64-47 with 14:16 left in the contest. Peru State would whittle away at that lead and actually pulled to within seven at 66-59 after
Brandon Reed (Omaha) hit a bucket off an assist from
Anthony Richardson (Schenectady, N.Y.) with 12:44 on the clock.
The Vikings would later lead by 15 at 82-67 and their lead was double-digits the rest of the way. After
Rashad Brackeen (Oakland, Calif.) hit a trey with 2:14 remaining, Peru State was within ten at 84-74, but would never be any closer.
GRAND VIEW GAME BOOK
Team Statistics
The Vikings connected on 32 of 64 field goals for 50% which included 5 of 15 from long range for 33.3%. At the free throw line, Grand View made 15 of 22 for 78.6%. Peru State made 26 of 74 field goals for 35.1% and were cooler form behind the arc hitting just 8 of 30 for 26.7%. The 'Cats made 19 of 21 free throws for 90.5%.
The rebounding was close as Grand View grabbed 44 boards compared to 42 for Peru State. The Vikings had 18 assists while the Bobcats finished with 11. The turnovers were nearly even as Grand View had 17 while Peru State had one less.
The Bobcats blocked seven shots while Grand View had two blocked shots. Each team had seven steals.
Individual Statistics
Three Bobcats finished in double-digits scoring and were led by Brackeen with 15 points.
Marley Biyendolo (Melbourne, Australia) added 12 with Eboigbodin finishing with 11.
Marley Biyendolo was a ball-hawk
against the Vikings as he had five
steals. He added 12 points.
Eboigbodin led the team with eight rebounds while Roberts-Burnett and Richardson each finishing with seven. Eboigbodin also led the team with three assists while Delinac and
B.J. Day (Lincoln) each dishing out two assists.
Vasa had a game-high three blocked shots while Day blocked two. Biyendolo had a game-high five steals.
Upcoming Games
Peru State will host Benedictine (Kan.) on Saturday at approximately 4:15 p.m. The Ravens have won seven straight and are 17-6 on the season and are now 14-5 in the Heart.
Saturday is the Foundation's National Alumni Association annual chili feed. The feed will begin at approximately 2:30 p.m. and will go through part of the men's game. A freewill donation will be accepted which will go toward Foundation scholarships. At halftime of both games, the Fantastic Flyers of Gary's Tumbling in Glenwood, Iowa, will perform. Between games, seniors from the cheerleading, women's basketball, and men's basketball teams will be recognized. This will be followed by the athletic department's fall student-athlete recognition.
Next Wednesday, Feb. 8, the Bobcats will host Graceland (Iowa) at 7:30 p.m. The Yellowjackets are presently 15-8 on the year and are 12-7 in conference action. Between the men's and women's games, the Johnson-Brock High School volleyball team will be honored for their back-to-back state championships. At halftime of the men's game, the Auburn High School cheerleaders will perform their state competition routine.
