Box Score (Peru, Neb.) – The Peru State men's basketball team blew out Mount Mercy 91-59 on Thursday night in a huge win for the Bobcats. The Bobcats improve to 9-11 overall and 4-6 in Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) play. Mount Mercy falls to 13-7 on the year and 6-4 in conference play.
 
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Peru State and keeps the 'Cats in a log-jam of teams behind North Division leader William Penn.
 
It was a tight first half as neither team could pull away from the other in the first 12 minutes of action. There were five lead changes and the eight ties in the first half. The last of the eight ties came with 3:41 seconds to play with the game being tied at 33, then the Bobcats took control from there.
 
The Bobcats went on a 10-0 run to close the half scoring nearly 50 points in the first half to take the 48-35 lead into the break.
 
Mount Mercy shot the ball well from the field in the first half as they connected on 13-of-30 of their field goals shooting 43.3%. They were a little less efficient from beyond the arc as they shot 5-of-15 from 3 good for 33.3% from the three-point line.
 
In the second half, the Bobcats started with a 9-0 run to make the lead 57-35 with 15:09 to play. They held the Mustangs scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half.
 
Later in the second half the Bobcats would go on another mini 7-0 run making the score 70-43 with just under 11 minutes to play.
 
Peru State never let Mount Mercy even sniff coming back into the game. Late in the second half the Bobcats would get their largest lead of 33 leading 83-50 with 3:53 to play in the game.
 
The Bobcats won the game 91-59 by getting 28 points from Henry Tanksley (Lincoln) and 16 points for Jibril Harris (Chicago). For Tanksley, this was his best scoring output of the season.
 
Here is what head coach Bob Ludwig had to say after the huge win and Tanksley's big night.
 
"We were really pleased with the defensive energy and focus tonight," said Ludwig.
 
"So proud of Henry Tanksley, while his great offensive night sticks out, he also played tremendously on the defensive end," added Ludwig.
 
 The Bobcats shot making never cooled off as they finished the game 38-of-66 from the field for a 57.6% clip. The threes kept falling for Peru State as well as they were 14-of-31 for the game shooting 45.2% from beyond the arc.
 
Mount Mercy's shots did not fall in the second half as they ended the game shooting 22-of-53 from the field 41.5%. The three-point shooting was not there in the second half for the Mustangs as they were 3-of-10 for 30% in the second half, and for the game were 8-of-25 shooting just 32% from deep.
 
 
The Bobcats had a huge rebounding edge as they grabbed 13 more boards than the Mustangs as they finished with 32.
 
Next up for the Bobcats is a road trip to Olathe, Kan., for a matchup with the MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers at 4 pm Saturday, January 19. The Pioneers are 10-9 on the season and 5-4 in the Heart South.