(Peru, Neb.)—The Peru State men's basketball team propelled by a 51-point second half defeated Central Methodist 86-79 on Saturday evening. The Bobcats improve to 11-4 overall and 6-3 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play while the Eagles fall to 7-7 overall and 4-4 in conference play.
Below is a breakdown of how the game went…
Central Methodist came sprinting out of the blocks with an early 8-2 run.
Lorenzo Anderson (Lithonia, Ga.) slammed home a dunk to stop the run. The Eagles then went on a 10-0 run to take an 18-6 lead with a little above 14 minutes to go in the first half.
The Eagles lead ballooned up to 14, as they lead 27-13 before the Peru State offense woke up. The Bobcats then went on a 15-2 run to cut the lead all the way down to one.
Contributing to the run were threes by
SJ Allison Jr. (Dallas),
Man Man Baker (Aurora, Colo.), and
Christian Tidiane (Council Bluffs, Iowa) and baskets by Baker, Houghton and Tidiane.
Peru State trailed 29-28, then Central Methodist got its lead back up to five a few more times before the end of the half. The Bobcats trailed by three going into the break down 38-35.
The Bobcats immediately went on a quick 5-0 run to take a 40-38 lead after a tip-in from Houghton and a three by Allison Jr. That was short-lived as the Eagles tied the game back at 40.
A little later the game was tied back at 43 all. Peru State then went on a 7-0 run capped off by three made free throws from
Donzell Johnson (Bloomington, Ill.) after he was fouled as the Bobcats took a 50-43 lead.
Central Methodist then cut the lead to four twice and then they got it down to three trailing 54-51 with just over 12 minutes to play in the game. The Bobcats then extended their lead out to eight after a Johnson three as they were up 61-53.
The Eagles with around eight minutes to go in the half cut the lead down to five after a made free throw. Peru State then went on a 12-2 run to take a 77-62 lead with under five minutes to play.
Contributing to the run were baskets by Anderson and Houghton, a three by Anderson, and a technical foul shot by Johnson. The Eagles then cut it to 11 with around three minutes to play down 80-69, they cut it down to ten with under a minute to play.
Peru State eventually held on for the seven-point victory 86-79.
Peru State shot 35-of-57 from the field shooting 61.4%, 8-of-22 from beyond the arc shooting 36.4% and 8-of-14 from the line shooting 57.1%. Central Methodist shot 28-of-72 from the field shooting 38.9%, 13-of-32 from beyond the arc shooting 40.6% and 10-of-15 from the line shooting 66.7%.
Peru State outscored Central Methodist 54-28 in the paint. Central Methodist outscored Peru State 21-10 in points off turnovers, 36-15 in bench points and 17-4 in second chance points.
Baker nearly had a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Anderson led the way in points with 23, Houghton finished with a double-double 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Peru State welcomes No. 17 William Penn to the Al Wheeler Activity Center Wednesday, January 11. Tip-Off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
