(Peru, Neb.) – It was a rugged and rough contest throughout. But, the Peru State men's basketball team pulled it together late and secured a 66-59 win over the visiting MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (MNU) Pioneers Saturday afternoon in a conference cross-division contest.
 
With the win, the Bobcats improved to .500 on the season at 4-4. More importantly, the 'Cats are now 2-3 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) North Division. MNU fell to 4-5 on the year and are 1-5 in the Heart South.
 
First Half Action
 
MNU scored the opening points of the game on a pair of free throws. It was at the 17:46 mark in the game when the 'Cats got on the board as Isaac Simpson (Papillion) threw down a dunk off an assist from Henry Tanksley (Lincoln).  
Peru State would take the lead when Tyrece Griggs (Omaha) scored a bucket after grabbing an offensive rebound. Then, Skyler Wilson (Omaha) would hit a bucket and the 'Cats led 6-2 at the 16:40 mark of the first half.
 
The Pioneers would score the next five points to regain the lead only to see DJ Fields (Omaha) hit a field goal off an assist from Tanksley to regain the lead for Peru State at 8-7. Amitai Afenjar (Los Angeles) would hit a trey off an assist from Wilson and the Bobcats again led by four at 11-7 with 14:35 on the clock.
 
A 6-0 run by MidAmerica Nazarene gave them a 13-11. Griggs would tie it up with a bucket and then Wilson put the Bobcats back in the lead at 15-13. Griggs would get another hoop and the 'Cats now led 17-13 at the 11:47 point in the first 20 minutes.
 
MNU would regain the lead at 21-19 and still led 27-26 with 2:38 left in the first half after Tanksley pulled the 'Cats within one at that point.
 
A trey by Griggs, off an assist from Wilson, put the Bobcats back in the lead at 29-27 with 94 ticks left in the half. Afenjar would hit a pair of free throws to end the scoring of the first half with the Bobcats leading 31-27.
 
Second Half Action

 
Craig Jordan (Compton, Calif.) hit a three-pointer off an assist from Tanksley to start the second half extending Peru State's lead to seven.
 
The Pioneers would reel off eight-straight points to regain the lead and then extended it to three with a bucket.

Tanksley stopped the run with a basket making it 37-36 MNU at the 16:19 point. Griggs followed with a bucket off an assist from Afenjar to put the 'Cats back in the lead. Simpson followed with a three-pointer off an assist from Tanksley and the Bobcats were now up 41-37 with 15:36 left in the game.
 
The game was later tied at 42 and 44 before MNU would take the lead with 8:55 to go. The Pioneers would extend their lead to seven at 54-47 with 6:23 on the clock.
 
A Tanksley trey, off an assist from Wilson, was followed by buckets by Afjenjar and Griggs to knot the game at 54. Tanksley would hit a pair of free throws to give Peru State the lead again only to see MNU tie it again.
 
MNU would take its last lead at 59-58 after completing an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:28 left on the clock. Fields put the Bobcat back in the lead for good with a bucket and then hit a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left to put the score at 62-59.
 
Simpson and Wilson each made a pair of free throws down the stretch for the seven-point win.

MIDAMERICA NAZARENE GAME BOOK
 
Team Statistics
 
Peru State made 23 of 50 field goals for 46% which included hitting 7 of 16 from three-point range for 43.8%. At the free throw line, the 'Cats went 13 of 18 for 72.2%. The Pioneers connected on 20 of 59 for 33.9% and went 8 of 28 for 28.6% from behind the arc. MNU were 11 of 16 at the charity stripe for 68.8%.
 
The Pioneers had a slight rebounding edge as they grabbed 34 rebounds compared to 31 for the Bobcats. MNU also had an edge in assists as they dished out 13 while the 'Cats finished with 11.
 
Peru State finished the contest with 15 turnovers compared to 13 miscues for MidAmerica Nazarene.
 
The Bobcats blocked five shots and grabbed three steals while the Pioneers blocked three shots and nabbed 11 steals.
 
Peru Individual Statistics
 

Three Bobcats finished in double figures and were led by Tanksley who had a game-high 15 points – 13 of which came in the second half. Griggs finished with a season-high 13 points while Wilson added 11. Afenjar was one shy of scoring in double figures.
 
Wilson led the team with nine rebounds while Tanksley grabbed seven.
 
Tanksley dished out a game-high six assists with Wilson handing out three dimes.
 
Simpson was credited with three blocked shots while Tanksley and Fields each blocking one.
 
Wilson grabbed two steals while Carl Brown (Omaha) grabbed one.
 
Upcoming Contests
 
The Bobcats will be back in action Monday night as they host Graceland (Iowa) at 7:30 p.m. in a Heart North contest. The Yellowjackets are 2-3 overall and are 1-3 in Heart action.
 
The 'Cats will then be on the road for a pair of Heart North games. On Saturday, Dec. 12, Peru State will be in Dubuque, Iowa, to take on Clarke at 4 p.m. The Pride are now 3-3 on the season and 2-2 in conference play.
 
Peru State will then take on the Graceland team on their home court in Lamoni, Iowa, on Tuesday, December 15, at 7:30 p.m.
 
The Bobcats will then have one more game in 2020 as they host Concordia in a non-conference game on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 7:30 p.m. The Bulldogs are currently 8-2 on the season.