'For the first time since November, the Raven Men's Basletball team walked off the court on the losing side of the scoreboard.
The No. 1 Ravens (30-3) lost to the No. 24 Peru State College Bobcats 74-65 in the championship game of the Heart of America Postseason Tournament Tuesday night in the Ralph Nolan Gymnasium. The Ravens earned the one seed in the tournament by going undefeated in conference play and winning the conference championship. The Bobcats were the second seed in the tournament.
After trailing by 4 points at halftime, the Ravens opened the second half on an 8-0 run to go in front 37-33. Peru's Lyle Hexom, the Heart Player of the Year, responded with 4-straight points to tie the game back up. With 12:45 to play in the game, Peru's Tyrone Carey Jr. hit a 3-pointer to give the Bobcats a lead and the visitors didn't trail the remainder of the game.
After Hexom made an and-1 opportunity with three minutes to play, the Peru lead swelled to 11 points. The Ravens still had some fight left, though. Eric Krus made a basket in the paint and then buried a 3-pointer with 2:19 to play to pull the Ravens within 6 points. But Hexom, again, answered the call and hit a 3-pointer of his own and quickly the Bobcats pushed their lead back to 11 points.
The Bobcats (23-10) made enough free throws down the stretch and kept the Ravens from clawing back in the final seconds, winning by 9 points. Hexom finished with 25 points and nine rebounds while Jamil Maddred scored 15 and Brandon Jones had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Krus led all scorers with 26 points and also pulled down 12 boards. Adam Kutney added 12 points and Jaiden Bristol had 10 points.
The Ravens shot 42.9 percent from the floor compared to 39.7 percent by the Bobcats, but Peru grabbed 47 rebounds compared to the Ravens 33 and scored 19 second-chance points. The Ravens also shot just 23.1 percent from behind the 3-point line despite entering the contest averaging 40 percent from deep. Their six 3-pointers made are tied for the second-fewest in a contest this season.
Tuesday's loss was the Ravens first since a November 5 loss at Park University. They won 29 straight games, including a perfect 24-0 record in the Heart of America Conference.
Next up for the Ravens is a 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 13 date with the NAIA Div. I Men's Basketball Championship Selection Show, which will be broadcast on the NAIA Facebook page. The Ravens will learn who they play and when they play, with the first round of the tournament being played on Wednesday and Thursday, March 20-21 at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
