Pride men's basketball can't hang on in 92-89 loss to Peru State

PERU, Neb. - A seven-point halftime lead and as much as a 12-point lead in the second half wasn't enough as the Clarke University men's basketball team dropped a tough Heart of America Athletic Conference opener 92-89 to Peru State College.

The Pride led by a dozen with just under 13 minutes remaining at 67-55 when Peru State scored 12 of the next 14 points to pull within two points in just over three minutes of game time at a 69-67 Clarke lead.

From that point on, it was a back-and-forth, one possession game the rest of the way until the Bobcats's Ajantae Hogan scored some big buckets down the stretch, including a layup through a foul while hitting the free throw to pull PSC ahead by six with 45 seconds remaining. 

CU's Jordan Lake answered with an and-one layup and free throw of his own to pull it back to a one-basket game then followed it with a stop but withtout a timeout they had to push a defensive rebound the length of the court for a last second three point attempt from Jacob Fierst that was off the mark, giving Peru State the victory.

Fierst was the leading scorer and rebounder in the game with 28 points and 12 rebounds but it took the junior transfer from Morningside 25 shots to get those 28 points as that final second miss from deep was his sixth miss in seven attempts from long range in the game. Lake finished with a double-double of his own, ending the game with 14 points and 10 assists running the point for CU.

The Pride had a total of five players in double figures with Keith Johnson's 18, Anthony Eddy's 11, and Biggie Luster's 10 providing depth scoring for Clarke. All of Luster's 10 points came in the first half as he didn't attempt a field goal in the second 20 minutes as he dealt with some foul trouble, ending the game with four fouls.

The Bobcats' offensive efficiency in the second half was a major factor in their comeback as they only turned the ball over three times in the second half while shooting 18-for-30 (60%) from the field and 6-of-13 (46.2%) from three-point range.

Peru State also finished with five players in double figures led by the 18 points from Jibril Harris while shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from deep as he added six rebounds in 30 minutes for PSC.

Clarke men's basketball will have the Thanksgiving weekend off before they get back to work to prepare for their next game in the Heart when they travel to Lamoni, Iowa to take on Graceland University on Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. CT.