LAMONI, Iowa - The Central Methodist men's basketball team went into the Closson Center on Thursday night and defeated Graceland, 73-66. The Eagles (10-13, 4-9 Heart of America Athletic Conference) converted nine free throws down the stretch to defeat the Yellowjackets (15-9, 7-6 HAAC).

"We finally executed a game plan from start to finish," Central Methodist head coach Jeff Sherman stated.�"We went into halftime ahead. We dominated the boards tonight, and we had to do that."

A three-pointer by Central Methodist's Melvin Tillman two minutes into the game tied the score at five. The first half went back and forth as both teams traded leads.

Evan Lavery banked in a three from behind the arc to give the visitors a 34-29 upper hand, and the Eagles led 38-34 at halftime.

Alex Barner led the Eagles with nine points after the first 20 minutes. Graceland's Jamal Lawson had 12 at intermission to lead all first-half scorers.

Robert Mason opened the second half with a trey to give Central Methodist a 41-34 upper hand. The Yellowjackets responded, tying the game at 43 after a bucket by Brad Burgus.

Tillman scored four straight points, including an offensive putback with 8:19 to go in the game, to make the score 55-51 in favor of the Eagles. Two minutes later, Barner drained a trey from the corner to keep Central Methodist's lead at four points, 60-56.

Eric Franklin found Barner for an alley-oop with 2:30 left in the game. Barner skied over a Yellowjacket defender for a two-handed flush to give his team a 66-60 advantage.

"Robert Mason set a perfect back-screen for me," Tillman said, adding,�"Eric threw a perfect pass, and I went up and got it."

Trailing 66-64 with 30 seconds left, a Lawson turnover resulted in a steal by Franklin. Tillman converted two free throws on the next�trip down the court�to give the Eagles a two-possession lead.

Tillman and Barner finished with 18 points and seven rebounds apiece. Mason and Elliott Black added 14 and 10 points, respectively.

"We were hitting shots and played well defensively," Tillman commented.�"Our bench definitely stepped up tonight. Evan came in and gave us some good minutes. Derek Kitch also gave us big time play."

Lawson scored 16 points, and Burgus followed up with 15. Alex Roth had 14. Chris Henderson tallied 10.

"Melvin, Alex, Eric, and Robert really stepped up," Sherman said.�"We were the more energetic team at the end.�This is one of the toughest places in the league to play, and I'm happy for the guys to get a victory tonight. Players executed down to a T the scouting report that Coach (Charlie) Wilson came up with. It was a total team effort."

The Eagles shot 28-of-60 (46.7%) from the field in the contest, while the Yellowjackets were 27-of-53 (50.9%).

Central Methodist will host Avila on Saturday. Tipoff from Puckett Field House is set for�4 p.m.