Olathe, Kan. - The Central Methodist Men's Basketball team's upset bid of No. 22 MidAmerica Nazarene University fell short Wednesday night in Olathe, Kan. CMU was just edged by the Pioneers 87-83 in the final minutes of the contest.
With the defeat, Central now stands at 4-3 and 2-1 in the Heart, while MNU improves to 7-1 and 2-0 in conference action.
The Pioneers were out in front on the scoreboard for a majority of the first half, with their largest lead being eight points. Central snagged their first lead on a two-point basket from Charlie Bronakowski with one second left on the clock, taking a slim 36-35 lead into the halftime break.
The game remained close in the second half of action, with CMU maintaining its lead for a majority of the game. With just over four minutes to play, MNU grabbed a 69-68 lead on a pair of free throws. Central's James Jordan answered right back with a jumper to give CMU a 70-69 lead.
Over the next two minutes, both sides remained even, as neither team led by more than three points. MNU would go on a 6-0 scoring run to take an 82-76 lead with 25 seconds left. CMU clawed back and trimmed the lead to as few as two points, but timely free throw makes for the Pioneers kept Central at bay of the upset bid.
Sophomore guard Everett Stubblefield had a career night for the Eagles, dropping a career-best 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the floor which included five three-point baskets. In addition, Stubblefield added six rebounds and three assists to his statline.
James Jordan was the second Eagle land in double figures with 15 points along with a team-high seven rebounds and two steals and an assist. Josh Noton was the final Eagle to score in double digits, chipping in 11 points in 26 minutes of action.
Isaiah May and Bronakowski each added seven points.
The difference in the game came at the charity stripe, as MidAmerica made 32 trips to the foul line compared to just seven for Central Methodist. MNU was outstanding from the free throw line, converting on 93.8-percent of its attempts.
The Eagles will continue their three-game swing with a matchup against the Mount Mercy Mustangs Saturday, Dec. 3 at 4:00 p.m. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
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