Yellowjackets surge ahead in second half, end Wildcats’ season in conference tournament
LAMONI, Iowa — The Culver-Stockton College men’s basketball team committed a season-high 18 turnovers in a 77-64 loss to Graceland University on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament.
The sixth-seeded Wildcats end their first season under head coach Dorian Hobbs Jr. with a 14-15 overall record. Third-seeded Graceland (21-8) advances to the tournament semifinals Friday night and will travel to Baldwin City, Kan., to face second-seeded Baker University, which defeated Park University 87-85.
The Yellowjackets, who defeated the Wildcats in all three meetings this season, scored 27 points off the 18 Wildcats turnovers. Graceland recorded just seven turnovers, leading to nine C-SC points.
C-SC, which led by as many as 13 points in the first half, took a 31-27 lead to the locker room at the intermission with a strong defensive effort that limited the Yellowjackets to just 11 field goals on 39 attempts (28 percent).
The Wildcat defensive effort was admirable in the second half, holding Graceland to 41 percent shooting (13 of 32). However, the Yellowjackets, who shot just two free throws in the first half, went 19 of 25 in the second half, including 13 of 16 in the final three minutes to help extend their lead.
The Yellowjackets, who outscored the Wildcats 50-33 in the second half, also got 31 points from their bench compared to five for the Wildcats. C-SC did have a 48-39 edge on the glass but most were of the defensive variety. Each team scored just six second-chance points.
The Wildcats placed four players in double figures with Tai Walters-Whitaker registering a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way. Seth Larson scored a team-high 17 points and just missed recording his third straight double-double, finishing with nine caroms.
Robert Fry II chipped in with 16 points and seven rebounds while Conner Davis garnered 11 points and eight rebounds before fouling out.
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