(Peru, Neb.) – The NAIA's #12 team in Division 1 men's basketball in Fayette, Mo., Saturday afternoon held on to an important victory. The Central Methodist (CMU) Eagles took a 77-73 win over the visiting Peru State Bobcats in route to their sixth win in a row.
 
In addition, the victory for the Eagles locked up the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) South Division title as they improved to 12-3 in conference action and are now 23-3 overall. It would appear that CMU could move up in the rankings which will come out on Monday.
 
The 'Cats, who had been receiving votes in the last coaches' poll, have dropped a pair of contests this past week. But, the losses were to the Eagles and the top-ranked William Penn (Iowa) Statesmen on Wednesday night. Presently, the Bobcats are 16-10 on the season and are 10-5 in the Heart North. With the two losses this week, Peru State dropped into third in the North division behind William Penn and Graceland (Iowa).
 
First Half Action
 
CMU scored the first two points of the game, but Quantice Hunter (Chicago) put the 'Cats in front with a trey at the 18:38 mark. Another two-pointer by the Eagles gave them the lead again, but Hunter came right back with another trey, this time coming off an assist from LJ Westbrook (Salem, Ore.) to make it 6-4 at the 16:51 mark in the first half.

 
The Eagles tied it again with a bucket. Terry Moore Jr. (Kansas City, Kan.) put the Bobcats ahead with a bucket.
 
Later at the 14:09 mark, Westbrook dished the ball to Andre Frazier-Stanley (Los Angeles) who hit a trey to knot the game at 13 each. Central Methodist would then score the next four points and actually never trailed the rest of the first half.
 
The Eagles would lead by as many as eight twice in the first half. With 5:22 left in the first 20 minutes, Westbrook would pull Peru State back to within one at 27-26 with a bucket in the paint. CMU would hit a bucket to extend the lead to three before Frazier-Stanley grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in to make the score 29-28 at the 3:29 mark.
 
Central Methodist would eventually lead 36-30 at halftime after going on a 7-2 run to end the first half.
 
Second Half Action
 
The second 20 minutes saw lots of runs by both teams.
 
Peru State got a bucket from Frazier-Stanley off an assist from Hunter to start the half. Hunter then followed with a bucket to pull the 'Cats within two. Then, Frazier-Stanley made a pair of free throws and the game was tied at 36-36 with 17:22 left in the contest.
 
The Eagles responded with a 10-0 run of their own and eventually led 46-36 at the 15:08 point.
 
The Bobcats would then go on a 13-2 run which was capped off with a bucket by Westbrook in the paint as Peru State took a 49-48 lead with 11:48 left in the game. Nolan Cass (Spring, Texas) followed with a trey off an assist from Westbrook to extend the lead to four.

 
Peru State would eventually lead by five at 55-50 after Cass hit a trey, again coming on an assist from Westbrook just one minute later.
 
CMU would respond with five points to knot the game at 55 each with just under ten minutes left in the game.
 
Seth Snoddy (Daly City, Calif.) gave the 'Cats the lead again and then hit another bucket to put Peru State up 59-55 with 8:41 on the clock.
 
Later, the game would be tied at 62-62, 67-67, and 68-68 with 3:30 left in the game. A second Eagle free throw gave CMU the lead, one they would hold onto the rest of the contest.

GRACELAND GAME BOOK
 
Team Statistics
 
Both teams shot the ball well from the floor. Central Methodist was extremely hot as they made 29 of 52 field goals for 55.8% which included making 6 of 13 from long range for 46.2%. At the free throw line, the Eagles made 13 of 17 for 76.5%. Peru State connected on 27 of 56 field goal attempts for 48.2% and were even better from behind the arc as they made 8 of 16 for 50%. The 'Cats made 11 of 18 free throws for 61.1%.
 
The Eagles had a slight rebounding edge as they grabbed 29 boards compared to 26 for the 'Cats. CMU dished out 16 assists while Peru State finished with 13.
 
Both teams had more turnovers than normal as CMU had 19 with the Bobcats finishing with one less. Peru State blocked five shots compared to one by the Eagles. Central Methodist grabbed seven steals while the 'Cats were credited with one.
 
Individual Statistics
 
Westbrook led all scorers with 25 points while Hunter and Frazier-Stanley added 14 and 10 respectively.

 
Frazier-Stanley led the team with a game-high six rebounds while Westbrook and Marley Biyendolo (Melbourne, Australia) each added three.
 
With ten game-high assists, Westbrook finished with a double-double. Hunter added two assists.
 
Frazier-Stanley blocked a game-high four shots with Moore Jr. being credited with the other block. Cass led the team with three steals with Westbrook grabbing the other two.
 
Upcoming Games
 
Peru State is playing an exhibition game with NCAA Division 1 University of South Dakota on Sunday at 1 p.m. before having two home games this week in the Al Wheeler Activity Center (AWAC).
 
On Valentine's Day night, the Bobcats will host Baker (Kan.) at 7:30 p.m. and will look to get back on a winning trend. The Wildcats have surprisingly struggled this year and are 10-13 overall and are 4-11 in the Heart South. However, Baker did win on Saturday pulling a mild upset over Missouri Valley at home, snapping a seven-game losing streak.
 
It will be Senior Day on Saturday in the AWAC as the Bobcats host Graceland (Iowa) at 4 p.m. The Yellowjackets are presently one game ahead of Peru State in the Heart North standings with a 11-4 conference mark and are 17-9 overall.
 
The Senior Day festivities will take place between games at approximately 3:30 p.m. Hunter, Westbrook, Paulius Sakinis (Klaipeda, Lithuania), Cass, Allias Roberts-Burnett (Joliet, Ill.), Frazier-Stanley, Van Merbin (Melbourne, Australia), and Biyendolo will be recognized along with one cheerleader and one member of the women's basketball team.
 
Both games this week will go a long way into the seeding for the upcoming postseason tournament which will begin the last week of the month.