Ravens Men's Basketball got a career night from Matt Austin on Wednesday.
Austin and the Ravens turned a 6-point deficit into a 14-point win against the Peru State College Bobcats at home.
The Ravens trailed by 4 points at halftime, and a back-and-forth second half saw the Bobcats leading by 6 points with 10 minutes left to play. The Ravens dug deep and finished the game on a 31-11 run to move to 10-5 on the season and 4-2 in Heart of America play.
The run started with an and-1 bucket by Austin. Later, Nysir Scott drilled a 3-pointer to level the score at 66-66, and Jaiden Bristol followed it with his own 3-pointer to give the Ravens a 69-66 lead and the home squad didn't relinquish their advantage as the Bobcats faded down the stretch.
Austin capped off the night with a pair of 3-pointers in the closing minutes, giving him 33 points on the night – a career-high – and making him the newest member of the Ravens 1,000-point club.
Austin's momentous night was a big reason the Ravens earned the comeback win, but he wasn't alone. Bristol had 20 points and 10 assists, Tyson Cathy notched 10 points, Saxton Thuston had 9 points and 10 boards, and Scott finished with 9 points.
The Ravens finished the night shooting 56.3% from the floor. The Bobcats shot 50% from the field but were held to 1-of-9 from behind the 3-point line in the second half after knocking down 7-15 in the first half.
The first 20 minutes saw high intensity, high scoring, and high emotions. The Bobcats took a 48-44 lead into the break, but not before Peru State was whistled for three technical fouls in one sequence. After hitting a 3-pointer, SJ Allison Jr. was whistled for a technical for taunting the Ravens bench. During the ensuing pause in action, Jibril Harris was whistled for two technical fouls for arguing with a referee, disqualifying him from the rest of the contest.
After the technical fouls, Austin's free throws gave the Ravens a 32-28 lead, but the Bobcats let the emotion of the moment fuel their offense, knocking down three-straight 3-pointers to take a 37-36 lead and then a 4-point advantage at the break.
Both teams shot the ball well in the opening 20 minutes, with the Ravens connecting on 61.5% from the field and the Bobcats making 54.3%. Austin led the Ravens with 18 points at halftime, then notched 15 more in the second half to land squarely on the 1,000-point mark in his career.
Next up for the Ravens will be a road contest Saturday, Jan. 8 at Graceland University.
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