Box Score (Peru, Neb.) – It was a tight contest throughout as neither team led by more than seven points. Down the stretch, the homestanding Culver-Stockton (C-SC) Wildcats held off the Peru State men's basketball team to capture a 72-69 win in Canton, Mo., Wednesday night.
 
C-SC improved to 12-5 overall and 3-5 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) North Division. The Bobcats fell to 8-10 on the season and also are now 3-5 in the Heart North.
 
First Half Action
 
The Wildcats jumped out to 5-0 lead before Jibril Harris (Chicago) hit a layup on an assist from ManMan Baker (Aurora, Colo.) with 17:26 remaining in the first half. Troy Houghton (Omaha) later hit a layup to pull the Bobcats within one at 5-4.
 
Later, at the 15:25 mark, Houghton got a dunk off the assist from Harris to give Peru State its first lead at 8-7.

 
The teams would trade buckets back and forth until Donzell Johnson (Bloomington, Ill.) hit a trey off an assist from Baker to put the Bobcats up 16-12 with 9:31 to go in the first 20 minutes. Later, a Harris layup off an assist from Houghton allowed Peru State to extend its lead to six.
 
After the Wildcats tied it at 18, Henry Tanksley (Lincoln) connected on one of two free throws to put the Bobcats back in front. That lead was short-lived as the Wildcats hit a pair of buckets to go up 22-19.
 
Back-to-back baskets by Baker and Ajantae Hogan (Lincoln) with the latter coming off an assist from Skyler Wilson (Omaha) put Peru State in front forcing a Wildcat timeout with 3:12 left in the half.
 
Near the end of the half, Harris hit a pair of free throws to put Peru State up 32-27 after the first 20 minutes.
 
Second Half Action
 
A steal and basket by Harris started the second half to give the Bobcats their largest lead of the game of seven at 34-27.
 
The Wildcats would go on a 6-2 run to make it 36-33 forcing a full time out by Peru State with 17:48 to go in the game.
 
Culver-Stockton would score nine more straight points to go up 42-36 before Houghton stopped the Bobcat drought with a bucket at the 14:25 mark.
 
Back-to-back treys by Johnson and Wilson would later put the Bobcats back in front at 46-44 with12:58 remaining.
 
C-SC would later tie the contest at 49 apiece before Wilson fed Houghton for a layup to put the Bobcats back in front 51-49 with 9:29 to go. Peru State would still lead by four two minutes later after SJ Allison Jr. (Dallas) hit a layup at 57-53.
 
The Wildcats would jump in front by four at led 66-62 with 1:48 remaining. Harris would cut the lead to two with a jumper and then Wilson knotted it at 66 each with 58 seconds to go.
 
A pair of free throws and then a dunk put the Wildcats up 70-66 with 21 ticks on the clock. Wilson found Johnson who hit a trey to make it 70-69 just six seconds later.
 
Peru State was forced to foul and the Wildcats hit both. A Bobcat trey would fall short at the buzzer preserving the Culver-Stockton win.
 
Statistics
 
Both teams should the ball well from the floor as Peru State connected on 49.2% of their field goals while the Wildcats made 46.8%. Neither team went to the free throw line very much, but C-SC did make six more charity tosses.
 
Culver-Stockton had a slight rebounding edge as they grabbed 34 boards compared to 30 for the Bobcats. The assists and turnovers were nearly even.
 
Individual Statistics
 
Harris finished with a game-high 23 points on 10-19 shooting. Houghton and Wilson each finished with 13 points while Johnson added 12 coming off the bench.
 
Harris finished with a double-double as he grabbed ten rebounds. Wilson and Baker each added five boards.
 
Wilson dished out a game-high five assists with Baker handing out four. Harris nabbed two steals and Houghton was credited with three blocks.
 
Upcoming Contests
 
Peru State will be hosting the next two games in the Al Wheeler Activity Center. The first will be this Saturday at approximately 4 p.m. when the Park Pirates from Parkville, Mo., visits. The Pirates are currently 7-6 on the season and 2-5 in the Heart South. They have lost four in a row.
 
Then, in a slight schedule change, the Bobcats will be hosting Mount Mercy next Thursday, instead of the original Wednesday night date. The 'Cats and Mustangs will tangle at approximately 7:30 p.m. Mount Mercy is currently 12-6 on the year and are 5-3 in the Heart North. They have won their last two contests.