C-SC men’s four-game win streak ends on road as Grand View rallies in closing minutes

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Culver-Stockton College men’s basketball team saw its four-game winning streak snapped after a 92-87 loss to Grand View on Saturday afternoon.

The loss drops the Wildcats back to the .500 mark at 12-12 overall and 10-10 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. With Peru State’s victory over Missouri Valley, the Wildcats are now in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Heart with the Bobcats and Vikings and just a half-game ahead of Grand View, which is 10-11 in the Heart.

The Wildcats bolted to a 52-45 halftime lead behind Tai Walters-Whitaker, who was 8 of 9 from the 3-point arc ,and ended the half with 28 points. Walters-Whitaker finished with a season-high 35 points, but went just 1 of 3 from deep in the second half.

Grand View opened the second half by scoring the first 14 points and holding C-SC scoreless for the first 6:14 to grab a 59-52 lead.

C-SC finally found the scoring touch and outscored the hosts 25-13 over the next eight minutes to take a 77-72 lead with 6:50 to play.

The Wildcats still held a five-point advantage at 86-81 when Robert Fry II made a 3-point basket with 2:29 to play in the game. However, C-SC scored only one more point the rest of the game, missing its only field goal attempt and turning the ball over three times in the final two minutes.

Fry finished with 17 points while Seth Larson also reached double figures with 10 points. Walters-Whitaker finished with a team-high 10 rebounds to register his second double-double of the season. Fry dished out a team-best five assists.

The Wildcats are scheduled to return home for two games this week, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday against Mount Mercy at Charles Field House.