(Peru, Neb.) – On Tuesday, Nov. 16, the Peru State Men's Basketball team put a scare into #4 William Penn University (WPU) in Oskaloosa, Iowa. The Statesmen would win the game 89-86 to improve to 6-0 overall and 1-0 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. (NOTE: As of the publishing of the release, William Penn just moved up to the third in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll which was released on Wednesday.)
 
With the loss, Peru State fell to 1-5 on the season and 0-1 in the Heart.
 
1^st Half
 
WPU scored the first bucket of the contest with a trey. The Bobcats would trail by one point after Henry Tanksley (Lincoln) made a jumper to bring the score 3-2 in favor of William Penn with 18:25 left in the half.
 
The Statesmen led by 10-5 before Tanksley made back-to-back layups to get it within one possession at 10-9 with 15:36 until intermission.
 
At the 13:59 mark William Penn led by four until Jibril Harris (Chicago, Ill.) made a three off the pass from Man Man Baker (Aurora, Colo.) as the 'Cats trailed by one point at 15-14. Peru State would lead 17-15 after a made three from Isaac Simpson (Papillion) off the assist from Baker.
 
The Bobcat lead would be extended to five points at 20-15 after Simpson made a three with the assist coming from Skyler Wilson (Omaha).
 
The Statesmen tied the game at 23 all and then would eventually take the lead at 25-23 with 8:27 left in the clock. Peru State would go on a 4-0 run to take the lead right back off a made layup from Dedoch Chan (Rochester, Minn.) and a made jump shot from Troy Houghton (Omaha) as the Bobcats led 27-25 with 7:27 until intermission.
 
The rest of the first half was tight as the Bobcats led at the break 47-41.
 
2^nd Half
 
As the second half got under way the Bobcats would strike first with a layup from Wilson with 19:34 on the clock.
 
At the 17:31 mark after a made layup from Chan, the Bobcats led by double-digits over the Statesmen 53-43. WPU would go on a 7-2 run to get within five points of Peru State at 55-50 with just over 16 minutes to play.
 
The 'Cats would then go on a 10-4 run of their own to get the game back to double-digits with the score reading 65-54 with 14:18 left in the game. The 'Cats extended the lead after Amitai Afenjar (Los Angeles, Calif.) made two free throws, as the Bobcats led by 13 points at 67-54 with 12:57 on the clock.
 
The Statesmen would finish the game on a 35-19 run over the last 13 minutes of the game, as they would go on to remain unbeaten after an 89-86 win over the Bobcats.
 
Stats
 
The 'Cats shot 34-58 from the field for 58.6% which included 12-22 from three for 54.5%. At the charity stripe, Peru State went 6-9 for 66.7%.
 
Simpson led the team with 18 points on 5-7 shooting from three and 3-3 at the free throw line. Peru State had four other players in double figures. Harris added 13 points while Tanksley finished with 12. The final two players were Afenjar with 11 and Houghton at 10.
 
Chan led the team with six rebounds while Harris added five.
 
Baker was tied for a game-high in assists with seven while Wilson added five assists of his own.
 
Tanksley, Wilson, Ajantae Hogan (Lincoln), and Simpson each had one steal in the game.
 
Houghton had the lone block for Peru State.
 
Upcoming Games
 
Peru State will be hosting the HEART-AMC Classic Nov. 19 and Nov. 20. The complete schedule will be posted below. All games will be played in the Al Wheeler Activity Center on the campus of Peru State College.