(Peru, Neb.) – In a contest where neither team had a double-digit lead, the visiting Grand View (Iowa) Vikings pulled out an 85-83 win over the Bobcats of Peru State.
 
Grand View improved to 4-1 on the season and are 2-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) North Division. The 'Cats fell to 2-3 overall and are 0-2 in conference action.
 
First Half Action
 
The Vikings took an early 5-0 lead before Montenia Nelson (Kenosha, Wis.) hit a bucket at the 18:15 mark to put the 'Cats on the board.
Grand View would maintain the lead for nearly six minutes. At the 14:37 mark, Carl Brown (Omaha) hit a trey off an assist from Skyler Wilson (Omaha) to put Peru State in front 12-11.
 
The game would be tied later at 14, 17, and 24 before Henry Tanksley (Lincoln) hit a bucket off a turnover to put the Bobcats in the lead with 8:34 to go in the half.
 
Peru State would lead the rest of the half. The 'Cats had their largest lead of seven at 40-33 after Amitai Afenjar (Los Angeles) made one of two free throws with 2:59 remaining.
 
The Bobcats would eventually lead 46-40 at halftime after Wilson hit a bucket with 18 ticks left on the clock.
 
Second Half Action
 
DJ Fields (Omaha) hit an old-fashioned three-point play to start the second half as the Bobcats extended their lead to nine with just nine seconds gone in the second half.
 
The Bobcats would maintain the lead for a good part of the second half and led by as many as eight at the 13:05 mark after Will Lybaek (Trondheim, Norway) converted a pair of free throws. The 'Cats led 63-55 at that point.
 
Peru State retained the lead for almost another eight minutes before Grand View took the lead for the first time in the second half at 77-76 with 5:27 to go.
 
It would be back and forth from that point on as it would be tied at 79, 81, and 83 with the last tie coming at the 1:47 point.
 
Grand View regained the lead as they finished off a three-point play. The Bobcats would have several chances to tie or take the lead and were assisted as the Vikings missed a pair of free throws. But, the Vikings managed to hit one charity to toss to finish off the two-point victory.
GRAND VIEW GAME BOOK
 
Team Statistics
 
Both teams shot the ball pretty well as Grand View finished hitting 31 of 65 field goals for 47.7% which include making 9 of 25 from three-point range for 36%. At the free throw line, the Vikings went 14 of 23 for 60.9%. Peru State converted 32 of 73 field goal tries for 43.8% but were a little cooler than normal from long distance as they made just 6 of 26 for 23.1%. The Bobcats did make 13 of 17 free throws for 76.5%.
 
The rebounding was nearly even as Grand View finished with one more rebound as they grabbed 36. The Vikings dished out 13 assists while the 'Cats had ten.
 
Grand View committed 13 turnovers compared to ten for the Bobcats. The Vikings blocked three shots while Peru State had one. The 'Cats were credited with six steals while Grand View had one.
 
Peru Individual Statistics
 
Five Bobcats finished in double digits in scoring and were led by Afenjar who finished with 17. Nelson added 16 while Wilson contributed 14. Brown and Tanksley added 13 and 12 respectively.
 
Afenjar finished the game with a double-double as he grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Brown added five boards.
 
Wilson dished out five assists with Afenjar handing out two.
 
Nelson was credited with the team's lone block.
 
Vinny Barron (Grand Prairie, Texas) had two steals while four others each nabbed one.
 
Upcoming Contests
 
On Saturday, the Bobcats will be in Canton, Mo., to face Culver-Stockton at 4 p.m. The Wildcats are 0-2 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
 
Peru State will then travel to face William Penn in Oskaloosa, Iowa, on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m. The Statesmen have started the season with a 5-0 mark and are 3-0 in conference play.
 
The following Saturday, the Bobcats will be back at home to take on MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) at 4 p.m.