Jimmies pull away in 95-88 NAIA tourney win over Peru State
Mar. 8—JAMESTOWN — The No. 3-seeded University of Jamestown is returning to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season. The Jimmies got a 95-88 win over No. 6-seeded Peru State University in the 2023 NAIA Men's Basketball Second Round on Wednesday, March 8, at Harold Newman Arena.
"Super proud of our guys," Jimmies head coach Danny Neville said. "I thought these two games we've been playing at a high level, we're just gritty, super proud of them."
The Jimmies (27-6) opened the game on an 8-2 run before the Bobcats fought back to cut the deficit to 14-13. The Bobcats (25-8) continued the run from there taking a 21-17 lead. The Jimmies responded with a run to stretch the lead out to 33-23 with 4:23 to go in the first half. The Jimmies went into the half up 47-37.
Early in the second half, the Jimmies' Mason Walters hit a jumper to push the lead out to 49-37, it was part of a 35-point performance for the Jamestown native in what might be his final ever game in Jamestown. In just over a minute, the Jimmies were able to stretch the lead out to 54-39, drawing a Bobcats timeout. The stoppage did little to stop the Jimmies as over the next seven minutes they pushed the lead out to 67-51. The Bobcats continued to fight back as Man Man Baker hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 81-78 with 4:16 to go in the game. Just under a minute later, the Jimmies' Reid Gastner kicked it to a wide-open Will Cordes in the corner who splashed the triple to send his teammates on the bench into pandemonium and give the Jimmies the 84-78 lead with 3:24 to go in the game.
After shooting 27% from three in the first game of the tournament, the Jimmies responded to shoot 44% from deep in this win. The Jimmies had two players shoot 50% from three in the win, Marc Kjos and Cole Woodford. Kjos finished the game with 20 points and Woodford finished with 13 points.
This game saw the Jimmies play the Bobcats for the fourth time all time and the first time since 2009. Over the last three second-round games the Jimmies have now outscored their opponents 255-229.
The Jimmies return to Kansas City, Missouri at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, when they face off against Indiana Tech.
"It's awesome, third in three years and the fourth time in five years," Neville said. "It's just been pretty special for us to do these things and we've had great players that are great teammates. Overall, it's just a blast to be a part of this program."
PSU 88, UJ 95
PSU: 37 51 — 88
UJ: 47 48 — 95
Points leaders:
PSU: Man Man Baker 20, Lorenzo Anderson 19, Troy Houghton 17
UJ: Mason Walters 35, Marc Kjos 20, Will Cordes 15
Assists leaders:
PSU: Baker 5, Houghton 4, Jibril Harris 1
UJ: Kjos 4, Walters 2, Cole Woodford 2, Reid Gastner 1, Cordes 1
Leading rebounders:
PSU: Baker 10, Houghton 7, David Wingett Jr 5
UJ: Gastner 7, Walters 7, Jimmy Llinas 7, Kjos 3
