FAYETTE, Mo. – The Central Methodist University men's basketball team was unable to hold off a second half comeback by Grand View at home on Saturday evening.
The Eagles were faced with another gritty battle in a contest that featured seven lead changes and six ties. The Eagles had their largest lead of the night when a 13-0 run pushed the squad ahead by double digits with five minutes remaining in the first half. Grand View slowly chipped away at the deficit with a streak of their own, but CMU held the 35-32 advantage at the intermission.
The Vikings reclaimed the lead early in the second half after rattling off a 7-0 run in the opening five minutes of play. Teams exchanged baskets down the stretch in a battle of runs, but neither side could hold the lead for long. A shot from long range from Noah Patrick (FR/Columbia, Mo.) gave Central its best chance at the end, pushing them ahead by three with two minutes remaining, but wouldn't be enough to close out the contest as teams continued to swap shots through the final ticks of play until a wild three-pointer from the Vikings with under three seconds sealed the loss.
James Byrd II (SR/Kansas City, Mo.) led all scorers on the night after notching 24 points on a 10-for-12 shooting performance. Byrd also tacked on seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals on the night.
INSIDE THE BOX:
- Bench production and three-point efficiency proved to be the biggest differentiator down the stretch
- CMU shot 26% from long range while GVU shot 48% from beyond the arc – The Vikings were an efficient 8-for-12 from deep in the second half
- Central was only able to produce nine points off of the bench while the Vikings bench rattled off 30 points
- Grand View narrowly won the battle of the boards, finishing +2 in the category
- Central forced the Vikings to commit 11 turnovers, converting for 17 points off of the errors
- The Eagles handled the ball well on the evening, only committing five turnovers and staying eight errors away from their season average
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMERS:
- Christian Soderholm (SR/Peru, Ill.) – 15 points, 6 rebounds
- Josh Robinson (SR/Normal, Ill.) – 12 points, 4 assists
- Isaiah Burton (SO/Kansas City, Mo.) – 9 points, 4 assists
UP NEXT:
Central is set to host MidAmerica Nazarene on Monday, January 27th. Game time is set for 7:30 PM inside Puckett Field House.
