Men’s Basketball Advances to Heart Semifinals

Lamoni, Iowa - The Graceland University Men's Basketball team took on the Culver-Stockton College Wildcats. The Yellowjackets defeated the Wildcats, 77-64. Graceland moves to a 21-8 overall record.

Graceland (21-8; 17;7) | Culver-Stockton (14-15, 12-12)
Half 1: Graceland 27 | Culver-Stockton 31
Austin Braun would open the game from the arches. The Wildcats would respond by putting five on the board (5-3). Carson Busch would break the run from the deep (6-5). Both teams would trade the lead. Culver-Stockton would add six to create a nine-point lead (15-8). Patrick Fisher would break the run with a layup and from the line, followed by Akeen Woods. The Wildcats would add to their lead with a seven-point run (30-17). Braun broke the run with a layup and pushed a five-point jump, and Darrius Davis added three points from a layup and a free throw (30-22). Carter Brown (three-pointer) and Davis (layup) would close the first half, closing the deficit to four points and heading into halftime with a score of 31-27.

Half 2: Graceland 50 | Culver-Stockton 33
Carson Busch would drain a three and push a Graceland nine-point run, Akeen Woods (three-pointer) and Amitai Afenjar (three-pointer) would contribute. The Wildcats would push a four-point jump, Aleksa Markovic's free throws would break the run, and even the score (40-40), and Darrius Davis would follow from the line to take the lead (42-40). Davis (layup) and Carter Brown (three-pointer) would have a five-point jump to take a four-point lead (49-45). Back-to-back layups from Davis and Woods would put a ten-point lead on the board (64-54). Graceland would hold their lead and take a 77-64 victory.

By the numbers:
24-23 – The Yellowjackets had one more field goal than the Wildcats
8-4 – Graceland three pointer compared to Culver-Stockton
31-5 – The Yellowjackets had 26 more bench points than the Wildcats
39-48 – Graceland had 39 rebounds and Culver-Stockton had 48 rebounds
21-14 – The Yellowjackets had seven more made charity stripes than the Wildcats

Graceland Leaders:
Scoring Leader: Darrius Davis – 16
Rebounding Leader: Akeen Woods – 12
Assist Leader: Austin Braun – 5
Steal Leader: Patrick Fisher – 4

Culver-Stockton Leaders:
Scoring Leader: Seth Larson – 17
Rebounding Leader: Tai Walters-Whitaker – 11
Assist Leader: Robert Fry II – 4
Steal Leader: Tai Walters-Whitaker – 2

Up Next:
The Yellowjackets will be back on the court on Friday, March 1 when they travel to take on the Baker University wildcats in the Semifinals of the Heart Conference Tournament. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm.

-Yellowjackets-