Cedar Rapids, Iowa – The Central Methodist University men's basketball team was able to cruise on Monday evening to an 82-61 road victory at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
With the win, the Eagles improve to 13-9 overall and 10-8 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play. With the loss, Mount Mercy University falls to 13-8 overall and 12-6 in The Heart.
Central Methodist jumped on Mount Mercy in the first half and never looked back. The Eagles shot 19-for-35 from the floor in the first half, including 8-of-16 from beyond the three-point arc. Central also outrebounded the Mustangs 24-14. Defensively, Central held Mount Mercy to 12-of-33 shooting in the first half, and they caused five first half turnovers, to take a 51-28 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Eagles kicked things into cruise control. Neither team shot extremely well from the field, as Central finished just 9-of-25 from the field; but they did make 12 of their 18 free-throw attempts. Mount Mercy on the other hand shot 11-for-29 from the field and 7-for-11 from the free-throw line. CMU and Mount Mercy combined for 25 fouls in the second half. The Mustangs outscored Central 33-31 in the second half, but the Eagles came out victorious 82-61.
In the win, two players finished in double-figure scoring; while all nine players that appeared in the game for Central scored at least four points or more. Reigning Heart of America Athletic Conference Player of the Week, Ron Lee (SR/Oak Park, Calif.), led the Eagles with 26 points. He also finished with a team high 10 rebounds and four assists.
The Eagles remain in the state of Iowa, as they will travel to Lamoni on Thursday evening to face 24th ranked Graceland University at 7:30pm. The women's game will precede the men at 5:30pm.
For more information about Central Methodist University athletics, visit http://www.cmueagles.com. Follow CMU athletics on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cmathletics and on Twitter twitter.com/cmueagles.
