(Peru, Neb.) – The Peru State men's basketball could not sustain a big lead in the second half as the visiting Clarke (Iowa) Pride came back to force an overtime in the AWAC Wednesday night. The Pride would then jump to an early lead in OT on their way to a 111-102 win.
 
Clarke improved to 13-16 overall on the year and also improved to 6-12 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) North Division. The 'Cats fell to 17-12 overall and are now 11-7 in the Heart North. Peru State did maintain the third spot in the Heart North and fourth seed overall despite the loss to the Pride.
 
First Half Action
 
Marley Biyendolo (Melbourne, Australia) scored the first basket of the game after grabbing an offensive rebound and putting it back in. Andre Frazier-Stanley (Los Angeles) made a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 4-0 and then Terry Moore Jr. (Kansas City, Kan.) scored off an assist from L.J. Westbrook (Salem, Ore.) with 17:48 left in the half. Moore Jr. would then hit a trey on an assist from Quantice Hunter (Chicago) and the 'Cats were up 8-0 at that point.

 
Clarke would get on the board with a three-pointer which was countered with a bucket by Westbrook. Hunter would add a three-pointer off an assist from Westbrook and Peru State had its first double-digit lead at 13-3 with just over four minutes gone in the game.
 
The Pride would fight their way back into the game and only trailed later 24-22 with 8:26 on the clock. Hunter got an assist from Westbrook and hit a trey and then Westbrook completed an old-fashioned three-point play to put the 'Cats up 30-22. On Peru State's next possession, Hunter hit another three on an assist from Westbrook and the Bobcats were back up by 11 again at 33-22 with 6:58 remaining in the first half.
 
Clarke would again fight back and pull within three at 35-32, but the 'Cats would again stretch the lead to ten right before the half after Nolan Cass (Spring, Texas) drained a trey off an assist from Westbrook to make it 48-38. The Pride would get a trey at the buzzer to cut the deficit to three at 48-41.
 
Second Half Action
 
The first part of the second half went back and forth with the Pride still within nine at 56-47 at the 15:36 mark. After that point, the 'Cats went on a 10-0 run which was capped off with Hunter hitting one from behind the arc on an assist from Westbrook to put the Bobcats up 66-47 with 13:31 left in the game.
 
Later, Peru State had a 20-point lead at 69-49 after Frazier-Stanley made a pair of free throws with 11:46 left in the second half.
 
Clarke would slowly claw its way back into the game as they went on a 14-3 run to make it 72-63 at the 7:43 mark. Frazier-Stanley would hit a bucket to make it 74-63 before the Pride countered with a bucket of their own. Frazier-Stanley would make one of two free throws and with 6:49 left in the contest, Peru State still led by ten. But, the Pride were not out of the game.
 
With 2:32 remaining Clarke knotted the contest at 85-85. Peru State would regain the lead on a bucket and made free throw by Westbrook. The Pride would again tie it up at 90-90 with just over two minutes remaining.
 
Westbrook would put the Bobcats up by two on an assist from Hunter. Later Biyendolo hit one of two free throws to extend the lead to three at 93-90 with 44 ticks on the clock. The Pride would get a three-point play to tie the game at 93-93. A shot by Peru State with seconds left would not get them the win and overtime ensued.
 
Peru State could have won in regulation but missed five free throws in the final five minutes.
 
Overtime Action
 
The Pride scored the first five points in overtime and never trailed as they outscored Peru State 18-9 in the five minutes of play.

CLARKE GAME BOOK Team Statistics
 
Clarke shot the ball as well as they have all year long as they finished making 40 of 71 field goals for 56.3% and had the same percentage from long range as they connected on 18 of 32 three-point attempts. This included making 12 of 20 from long range in the second half. The Pride hit 13 of 15 free throws for 86.7%. Peru State took 90 shots and made 35 for 38.9% and hit 12 of 37 from behind the arc for 32.4%. The Bobcats were a little off from their normal free throw shooting as they connected on 20 of 29 for 69%.
 
The Bobcats did have a slight edge in rebounding as they finished with 41 compared to 39 for Clarke. Both teams had a large amount of assists with the Pride dishing out 28 while Peru State finished with 23.
 
Peru State had half as many turnovers as they finished with eight while Clarke had 16. The 'Cats blocked six shots while the Pride had five. The Bobcats finished with two more steals than the Pride as they grabbed seven steals.

 
Individual Statistics
 
Peru State finished with two players scoring more than 30 points, but it could not counter the 37 scored by one of the Clarke players and the three others for the Pride who finished in double figures.
 
Westbrook finished with 35 points while Hunter had one less. Frazier-Stanley added 16.
 
Frazier-Stanley had a game-high 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Hunter added eight boards while Biyendolo nabbed seven.
 
Westbrook also had a double-double as he dished out a game- and season-high 12 assists. Hunter added six assists.
 
Frazier-Stanley blocked six shots which is ties him for the top number of blocks in the Heart this season. Hunter led the team with a game-high three steals.
 
Upcoming Contests
 
Peru State will travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday for its final regular-season contest against Mount Mercy. The Mustangs are presently 14-14 overall and are also at .500 in conference action at 9-9 in the Heart North. Mount Mercy has won its last two games and will look for some revenge as Peru State thumped the Mustangs in the AWAC back in January.
 
The Bobcats will then head back home and will host a Heart post-season first round game most likely as the third seed in the Heart North. Peru State will host the sixth seed from the South Division which as of this writing would be Evangel (Mo.).
 
With a win on Monday night, it appears Peru State would host another game on Wednesday night as presently they are the fourth overall seed in the Heart. The opponent would be the fifth-highest remaining team assuming the other top seeds hold.