Fayette, Mo. – The Central Methodist University men's basketball team played a tough 45 minutes on Saturday evening, against the 15th ranked Grand View University Vikings, and held on for the late 96-87 victory in overtime inside of Puckett Field House.
With the victory, the Eagles improve to 14-10 overall and 11-9 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play. With the loss, 15th ranked Grand View University falls to 16-6 overall and 15-5 in The Heart.
Saturday's match-up between the Vikings and Eagles was a battle throughout. Neither team gave much ground, until overtime. In the first half, both teams made 13 shots from the field and finished with similar three-point shooting percentages. The difference in the first half was free-throws. CMU shot 6-of-7 from the line, while Grand View shot 9-for-10 from the charity stripe. At halftime, the Vikings led the Eagles 37-35.
In the second half, both teams made 16 field goals each, including five three-pointers each. Central was able to get to the free-throw line a few times more than Grand View, and finished 6-of-9 from the line. The Vikings shot just 4-for-5 from the free-throw line, and after 40 minutes of play, the Vikings and Eagles were all nodded at 78-78.
Central Methodist opened the game up in overtime, and never looked back. CMU doubled-up Grand View, 18-9 in the scoring column. The Eagles finished the extra quarter 4-for-5 from the field and 9-for-12 from the free-throw line. Grand View struggled mightily in overtime, shooting just 2-of-9 from the field and 1-for-5 from beyond the three-point arc. Central Methodist closed out the game in overtime and won 96-87.
In the win, four players finished in double-figures for the Eagles. Ron Lee (SR/Oak Park, Calif.) led the way with 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting. He also chimed in with six rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Scott Stegeman (SR/Jefferson City, Mo.) finished with eight points and a team high 10 rebounds off the bench for Central.
The Eagles return to action on Wednesday evening, when they host Clarke University at 7:30pm. The women's game will precede the men's game at 5:30pm. Wednesday is being labeled as a "Black Out" inside of Puckett Field House, so make sure to wear your black CMU gear to support your Eagles on Wednesday.
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.
