Marshall, Mo. – The Central Methodist University men's basketball team won their third straight game on Saturday afternoon, when they defeated Missouri Valley College by a final of 82-65 in Marshall.
With the victory, the Eagles improve to 16-10 overall and 13-9 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play. With the loss, Missouri Valley College falls to 12-12 overall and 10-11 in The Heart.
In the first few minutes of Saturday's contest, the Eagles and Vikings played a tight nit game. Central would begin to pull away from Missouri Valley College prior to the midway point in the first half and never looked back. At halftime, the Eagles led Missouri Valley 37-20. CMU shot an impressive 17-for-30 from the floor and outrebounded the Vikings 19-14.
In the second half, the teams played a more even game. Both squads struck for 45 points apiece, while also finishing close in rebounds. Central shot 14-for-25 from the field, and also made 13 of their 17 free-throw attempts. Missouri Valley on the other hand, shot an impressive 18-of-28 from the field, while knocking down five three pointers, and they converted on four of their six free-throw attempts.
In the victory, Central had four players finish in double-figure scoring. Ron Lee (SR/Oak Park, Calif.) led the way with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He also finished with a team high seven steals, four rebounds and three assists. Cole Adair (SR/Fishers, Ind.) finished with 16 points, and Bo Burkhart (JR/Evansville, Ind.) chimed in with 13 points. Charles Harris III (SR/Antioch, Ill.) finished with eight points and a team high eight rebounds, while Vashawn Ruffin (JR/Sikeston, Mo.) added 10 points off the bench for CMU.
The Eagles return to action Wednesday, when they travel to Peru State College in Nebraska. The CMU women will get things started at 5:30pm, with the men's game to follow at 7:30pm.
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.
