Peru State College Athletics

(Mitchell, S.D.)- The Peru State College men's basketball team would use a 6-0 stretch early in the second half to hold a nine-point advantage, but Dakota Wesleyan would outscore the Bobcats by ten in the second half to pull out a 61-57 victory.
 
The loss would drop Peru State to 3-2 on the season while the Tigers would rise to 4-1 on the year.
 
After two field goals from Dakota Wesleyan would open the game with a 4-0 advantage, Aaron Murphy (Greenville, North Carolina / Greenfield High School) would knock down a three-point shot to spark an 8-0 run to take the lead 8-4 with 14:33 left in the first half. An 8-2 stretch from the Tigers would see them take back a two point edge and after a back-and-forth stretch of nine points would have the home team leading by one (14-13), the Bobcats would use a 10-6 swing fueled by six points from Murphy would earn a three-point advantage (23-20) with 5:23 remaining in the first. Peru State would follow with a 10-7 run highlighted by two three-pointers from Ashton Hermann (Huxley, Iowa / Ballard High School) to enter the half leading 33-27.
 
Dakota Wesleyan would find a three to cut the lead in half (33-30) before the Bobcats would use an 6-0 push to extend the advantage to nine (39-30) and force a timeout from the Tigers. An 8-0 series from the home team would cut the lead to one (39-38) before a 5-4 stretch in favor of Dakota Wesleyan would knot the score at 43 with 12:41 left in the second half. After a layup from the Tigers, Micah Brickner (San Diego, California / Scripps Ranch High School) would slam one down and follow up by sinking a three-pointer to give Peru State a three-point edge (48-45) with eight minutes left in the game. A 9-3 swing from the home team would deliver their own three-point lead (54-51) where after a Bobcat free-throw would drop the advantage to two (54-52) , Dakota Wesleyan would outscore Peru State seven to five over the final 4:30 of the game to take the win 61-57.
 
Murphy would go 6-18 from the field while sinking two free throws to pace the team with 15 points while grabbing six rebounds while Hermann would score 13 going 5-11 overall and leading the team with eight rebounds. Brickner would total 11 from the bench going 5-8 in field goals while Davon Smith-Johnson (Cleveland, Ohio / Maple Heights High School) would notch 10 points while marking six rebounds and blocking three shots.
 
The Bobcats would see an eight-point advantage in points off turnovers (19-11) while forcing 13 turnovers from the home team to hold a two-point edge (13-11).
 
Peru State is back in the Al Wheeler Activity Center as they open up Heart of America Athletic Conference Action against Missouri Valley on Saturday, tip-off is set for 4:00 PM.