(Peru, Neb.) – Three late free throws by the Clarke (Iowa) Pride men's basketball team gave them a one-point win over Peru State Saturday afternoon in Peru.
One of the Pride players was fouled while shooting a three-pointer and he drained all three with five seconds left on the clock. A well-drawn-up play for the Bobcats just missed at the buzzer allowing Clarke to escape with a 75-74 win.
With the victory, Clarke improved to 7-6 on the season and more importantly moved to 6-4 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) North Division. Peru State fell to 9-7 on the year and 5-6 in conference action.
First Half Play
As the final score indicated, it was a close contest throughout. In the first half, there were seven ties and seven lead changes with the largest lead being five points.
A trey by
Isaac Simpson (Papillion) off an assist from
Skyler Wilson (Omaha) gave the Bobcats an early 3-0 lead. The first tie came at 5 and then
Amitai Afenjar (Los Angeles) broke the tie with a trey of his own, again off an assist from Wilson.
Henry Tanksley (Lincoln) later hit a bucket in the paint to give Peru State its largest lead of the half at 10-5 with 16:41 left in the first 20 minutes.
Peru State would maintain the lead until it was tied at 15 at the 13:12 mark. Clarke would break the tie with a three-pointer only to see Tanksley drain a three to tie it back up at 18.
The game would later be tied at 26, 39, 31, and 33 before the Pride hit a trey to take the lead for the rest of the first half with 3:18 remaining.
With 59 seconds left in the half, Simpson hit another three-pointer to put the score at 39-38 at halftime.
Henry Tanksley goes for three of his team-high 20 points
Second Half Play
A bucket by Afenjar gave Peru State the first points of the second half and a 40-39 advantage.
Five straight points by Clark put the Pride in front by four. A bucket by Tanksley was followed by one by
Tyrece Griggs (Omaha) to tie the game at 44 with 16:22 on the clock.
Clarke would then rattle off nine points to have their largest lead of the game. A bucket by Tanksley stopped the run, but the Pride responded with a bucket to keep the lead at nine.
Peru State would eventually pull themselves back into the game and at the 4:40 mark, Wilson hit a three to put the Bobcats in the lead at 67-66. Later, Afenjar would extend the lead with a bucket in the paint off an assist from
Carl Brown (Omaha) to make it 69-66.
The 'Cats would extend their lead later to five at 74-69 with 68 ticks on the clock after Tanksley made one of two free throws. But, it was after that point that the Bobcats could not score and the Pride would come back for the eventual one-point win.
CLARKE GAME BOOK
Team Statistics
Clarke finished the game making 25 of 63 field goals for 39.7%, but shot even better from distance as they connected on 12 of 27 for 44.4%. At the free throw line, the Pride went 13 of 26 for 50%. Peru State made 28 of 63 field goals for 44.4% which included hitting 9 of 27 from behind the arc for 33.3%. At the charity stripe, the 'Cats only went to the line 12 times and made nine for 75%.
The Bobcats did have an advantage on the boards as they grabbed 43 rebounds compared to 31 for Clarke. Both teams dished out 13 assists.
Peru State had trouble handling the ball and committed 20 turnovers – twice as many as the Pride. The Bobcats blocked one shot and had three steals while Clarke finished with ten steals.
Tyrece Griggs goes up for two of his 15 points against Clarke
Peru Individual Statistics
Four Bobcats finished in double figures with Tanksley leading the way with 20 points. Griggs finished with 15 while Afenjar added 12. Wilson contributed ten.
Afenjar had a double-double as he grabbed ten rebounds to lead all rebounders. Brown finished with eight while Tanksley grabbed seven.
Wilson had a game-high six assists with Tanksley dishing out two.
Afenjar was credited with the game's lone block.
Tanksley, Wilson, and Brown each had one steal.
Upcoming Contests
Peru State will be on the road Wednesday when they travel to Parkville, Mo., to take Park at 7:30 p.m. The Pirates, who are new to the Heart this year, are 9-4 on the season and have the same mark in conference play. They have won five in a row.
On Saturday, January 23, Mount Mercy (Iowa) will be the opponent at 2 p.m. The Mustangs are just 3-5 on the season having been impacted by the coronavirus which has shortened their season. They are 1-3 in the Heart North.
The 23
rd will be Senior Day for two Bobcats –
Montenia Nelson (Kenosha, Wis.) and Simpson.
