Peru State College Athletics

(Crete, Neb.)- A 4-0 swing late in the first would see Peru State hold a 33-32 edge going into the second half, but a resurgence from the Tigers of Doane would have the Bobcats suffer a 80-68 setback on Wednesday night.
 
The loss drops Peru State to 2-1 overall on the season while the Tigers would climb to 3-1 on the year.
 
Doane would use a layup to take opening points of the game before the Bobcats would grab an 11-0 run fueled by four straight points from Davon Smith-Johnson (Cleveland, Ohio / Maple Heights High School) to pull ahead 11-2 with 15:34 remaining in the opening half, The Tigers would claw back through an 8-2 stretch to bring the score within three until Peru State would score seven out of an 11-point series to extend the advantage to six (20-14). Doane would outscore the Bobcats 13-5 to snatch a 2-point lead and after a three-pointer from Kai'Ree Murray (Fort Bend, Texas / Fort Bend Bush High School) would land to take back a one point edge, a 5-1 push in favor of the home team would reclaim the lead 32-29 with 1:53 in the first half, Damont Hanton (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania / Upper Darby High School) would drive to the lane to convert a layup with 1:29 to dull the edge to one (32-31) before Micah Brickner (San Diego, Calif. / Scripps Ranch High School) would make a steal and slam it down in transition to rip back the lead 33-32 with 1:09 left in the first and the Peru State defense would force a missed 2-point shot to enter the second half leading 33-32.
 
The Bobcats started the second half with a 6-2 burst in the first two minutes until Doane would answer with a 17-3 run to grasp a nine-point advantage with 12:30 of play remaining (51-38), the Tiger lead would extend to as much as 15 points as they would coast through the second half to claim the victory 80-68.
 
Bricker came off the bench to pace Peru State in scoring with 14 points on the night while shooting 5-7 from the field and a perfect 3-3 from the free-throw line, Hanton and Aaron Murphy (Greenville, N.C. / Greenfield High School) both found 12 points with Hanton leading the squad with five assists. Smith-Johnson would shoot 4-4 from the field on his way to 10 points while Ashton Hermann (Huxley, Iowa / Ballard High School) would find nine points while leading the team with nine rebounds.
 
Peru State would outgain the Tigers 10-5 in second chance points while maintaining a six-point edge in points off the bench (19-13).
 
The Bobcats are back in the Al Wheeler Activity Center on Friday where Peru State will face off against Non-Conference Ecclesia, tip-off is set for 6:00 PM.