Box Score (Peru, Neb.) – After having a four-point halftime lead, the Peru State men's basketball team dropped a road contest at the hands of the Benedictine Ravens Wednesday night in Atchison, Kan.
 
The Ravens captured an 87-73 win over the Bobcats to improve to 10-5 overall and 4-2 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) South Division. The 'Cats fell to 8-8 on the season and 3-3 in the Heart North – keeping them in a log-jam for second in the division. Presently, four teams are tied for second in the Heart North with 3-3 marks.
 
First Half Action
 
SJ Allison, Jr. (Dallas, Texas) gave Peru State an early 3-0 lead as he hit a trey off the assist from Troy Houghton (Omaha) with 90 seconds off the clock. After the Ravens tied it, Houghton broke the tie with a put-back after grabbing an offensive rebound.
 
Benedictine grabbed an 8-7 lead before Jibril Harris (Chicago) hit a two-pointer making it 9-8 Peru State with 15:58 on the clock. The 'Cats maintained the lead until a little over ten minutes left in the first half when the Ravens went up 18-17.
 
Both teams caught a little fire in the last ten minutes of the half the 'Cats would score 31 points while Benedictine added 26. Neither team had more than a four-point lead during that time with the Bobcats leading 48-44 after the first 20 minutes.
 
Second Half Action
 
The Ravens scored the first five points of the second half to take a 49-48 lead. Henry Tanksley (Lincoln) score the first Peru State points of the half with a bucket at the 16:29 mark.
 
The game would go back-and-forth with Peru State leading by as many as five at 58-53 after Ajantae Hogan (Lincoln) hit a bucket off the assist from Houghton with 12:38 to go. With 9:29 left in the game, the 'Cats had extended the lead to six at 62-56 after Donzell Johnson (Bloomington, Ill.) scored a two-pointer.
 
With 6:01 left in the game, Peru State still led 66-63 after ManMan Baker (Aurora, Colo.) hit a two-pointer. After that point, the Ravens took over and were hot down the stretch as they outscored the Bobcats 24-7 during the rest of the contest to capture the 87-73 win.
 
Statistics
 
Both teams shot the ball well from the floor as Benedictine made 56.3% of their field goals and the 'Cats hit 27 of 54 for 50% which included making 8 of 24 from downtown. Peru State also made 11 of 14 at the charity stripe for 78.6%.
 
Peru State had a slight rebounding edge as they grabbed 27 boards compared to 25 for the Ravens.
 
Individual Statistics
 
Three Bobcats finished in double figures on the night. Baker and Johnson each had 15 points which Allison, Jr. added 12.
 
Baker, Harris, and Tanksley led the team with four rebounds each.
 
Skyler Wilson (Omaha) led the squad with three assists while Baker, Houghton, and Amitai Afenjar (Los Angeles) each handed out two. Afenjar nabbed two steals to lead the team in that category.
 
Harris and Tanksley were each credited with one block.
 
Upcoming Contests
 
Peru State will be hosting Evangel of Springfield, Mo., on Saturday in a 2 p.m. contest. The Valor are 11-4 on the season and are in a three-way tie at the top of the Heart South with a 4-2 mark. Evangel topped Park Wednesday night at home 76-66.
 
The Bobcats will be in a battle with another set of 'Cats on Wednesday as they travel to Culver-Stockton in Canton, Mo., to face the Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. Culver-Stockton is presently 11-4 overall, but only 2-4 in the Heart North. They captured a win over Graceland Wednesday night.