OLATHE, Kan. ---- The No. 7 nationally ranked Central Methodist men's basketball team fell on the road to MidAmerica Nazarene 71-60 Saturday night.
NOTES
• Central Methodist fell to 24-4 (13-4) on the year.
• MidAmerica Nazarene improved to 15-12 (8-9).
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Brian Egejuru led the Eagles offensively with 16 points. He added four assists and three steals.
• Bo Burkhart also finished in double figures with 10 points. He tallied three assists and two steals.
• Armon Williams was the final Eagle to finish in double digits with ten points.
• Gabriel Jordan paced the Pioneers with 16 points, eight rebounds, a block, an assist and a steal.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• MidAmerica jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after the first five minutes of play, however the Eagles responded with six unanswered to make the score 8-6 with 12:32 on the clock.
• MidAmerica continued to hold a lead as the Eagles struggled offensively. The Pioneers led by 12, 32-20, after a jumper from Jordan with four minutes remaining in the first half.
• A brief 5-0 run from Central Methodist cut the lead to seven, however MidAmerica Nazarene held an 11 point advantage, 38-27, at the half.
• Central Methodist started the second half on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to six, 40-34, after a jumper from Burkhart six minutes into the half.
• MidAmerica held the lead the entire game, and led by 10, 48-38, after another jumper from Jordan with eight minutes remaining in the game.
• Central Methodist narrowed the lead to seven, 65-58, after a pair of free throws from Thurmond with a minute left in the game. However, Central Methodist would not score again until a pair of free throws from Bush with eight seconds on the clock fell through. MidAmerica held on for the 71-60 victory over Central Methodist.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Central Methodist completed 19-of-55 (34.5%) shots from the field, 4-of-18 (22.2%) from behind the arc and finished 18-of-26 (69.2%) from the charity stripe.
• MidAmerica converted on 27-of-57 (47.4%) from the field, 4-of-11 (36.4%) from behind the arc and 13-of-16 (81.3%) from the line.
• The Pioneers held a 40-33 advantage on the boards over the Eagles, despite Central Methodist holding a 13-12 lead in offensive rebounds.
• The Eagles led in points off turnovers 16-9 over the Pioneers as well.
• MidAmerica maintained a 24-19 advantage in bench points over Central Methodist.
UP NEXT
• The Eagles will return to action on Wednesday, February 21, when they travel to Kansas City, Mo. to face Avila University at 7:30 p.m., and continue Heart of America Athletic Conference action.
