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PERU, Neb. - Central Methodist shot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) in the first half, including 60 percent (9-of-15) from three-point range, to race out to a 20-point halftime lead and cruise past Peru State (Neb.) 93-70 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular-season finale for the Eagles.

With Saturday's win in the Al Wheeler Activity Center, Central Methodist (18-12, 11-7) wrapped up the five-seed for the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament. The Eagles travel to four-seed Evangel (Mo.) in the Quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 5, at 7 p.m. CT. The Green and Black split the regular-season series with the Crusaders but look to end a recent slump in postseason play against Evangel, having been bounced from the tournament the last two seasons with losses in the Ashcroft Center.

The Eagles end the regular season having won two straight games, while Peru State (9-19, 4-14) ends its season having lost eight in a row.

John Palmer hit two three-pointers in the early going, and Andrew Wright drilled the first of his four from distance to give the Eagles a 13-5 edge less than five minutes into the game.

The Green and Black made six of their first nine three-point attempts, including a Mitchell Farr trey to put the visitors up 31-18 at the 5:31 mark. Wright and Farr made back-to-back three-pointers to establish their team's largest lead of the period, 40-20, with 1:36 on the clock, and the Eagles led by that same margin, 44-24, at halftime.

The Eagles' hot shooting continued in the second half, going 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from the field and 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from beyond the arc. Central Methodist also went to the line 18 times in the final 20 minutes, converting 14 attempts.

Farr and Eric McDaniel scored 12-straight points for their team in the second half, as the Eagles built a 30-point lead with 13:07 to play. The advantage swelled to as many as 36 points, 85-49, at the 5:13 mark after a Scott Stegeman old-fashioned three-point play.

Nate Bohy tried to bring the Bobcats back, scoring 11 of his team's final 21 points, but Central Methodist's lead never dipped below 21.

McDaniel scored a team-high 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting and a 7-of-8 effort from the line. He also pulled down eight rebounds.

Farr finished with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-8 from distance. Wright tallied a career-high 16 points and was 6-of-9 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, to go along with a career-high three steals.

Palmer had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists. He was 4-of-6 shooting and 3-of-5 from downtown.

John Hall scored eight points and was perfect from three (2-of-2) and the line (2-of-2). Stegeman had seven points and a career-high nine rebounds.

Bohy led all scorers with 23. Jesse Jones added 19 in the loss.

The Eagles shot 59.3 percent (32-of-54) overall and 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from behind the arc. Central Methodist controlled the boards by a 34-18 margin, leading to 14 second-chance points.