Kirt Manion
kmanion@cherryroad.com

A late first half scoring run and a second half surge were too much to overcome for the Peru State men’s basketball team in an opening round loss in the NAIA tournament on Friday, March 14, against No. 14 rated Bethel (Ind.) at Mishawaka, Ind.

The final score favored Bethel, 83-69.

First half action saw Peru State lead grab an early lead behind an eight-point run by senior guard Chris Peoples. A three-point shot by junior forward Stephen Coleman Jr. had the Bobcats up 15-8.

Bethel hit a trio of late first half three-point shots and went on an 18-2 run to establish a 10-point halftime lead.

That momentum carried into the second half as Bethel pushed its lead to 19 points on a couple of occasions.

The Bobcats continued to battle, getting the margin down to 11 points and causing Bethel some trouble with full court pressure before ultimately falling short.

Looking at the final scoring numbers, senior guard Carlos Hines ended up as the leading scorer for Peru State with 22 points, 15 coming in the second half, while Peoples had 16 and Coleman had 12.

Bethel had four players in double figures to lead its offensive effort, but its biggest advantage was in rebounding where the Pilots pulled down 47 rebounds, 16 of them on the offensive glass while Peru had 27 rebounds with seven on the offensive glass.

With the loss, Peru State wraps up its 2024-25 season with a record of 22-9.