PERU, NEBRASKA - The Grand View men's basketball team secured an important road victory over Peru State, defeating the Bobcats 69-65 in a hard-fought contest.

Grand View came out strong with Daviyon Gaston opening the scoring with a jumper, and Lukas Helms followed with another jumper to give the Vikings a 4-0 lead. Peru State battled back to take an 8 point lead before O'Shawn Jones-Winslow provided a spark with a jumper to make it 6-12. Gaston followed suit adding a layup in the paint to cut the deficit to 8-12. Patrick Worrell connected on a three-pointer assisted by Gaston to bring Grand View within two at 11-13, and Rodell Davis Jr. drained a three-pointer to cut the deficit to only one with 11:17 to play. After Peru State took a 20-14 lead, the Vikings responded with Jaxson Young scoring a jumper to make it 16-20. Matthew Watters converted a layup in the paint, and Young added another jumper. Young then scored a layup in the paint and converted a free throw opportunity, but Peru State maintained their edge. Davis Jr. hit another three-pointer assisted by Gaston to cut it to 25-27, and Helms made two free throws late in the half. Watters scored a layup in the paint with under a minute remaining, and the Vikings trailed just 31-33 at halftime.

Grand View came out of the break with intensity and surged to a considerable lead. Gaston scored a layup in the paint to tie the game at 33-33, and Joe Knutson added a layup to give the Vikings their first lead of the half at 35-33. Young converted a three-point play to extend the advantage to 38-35, and Helms took over with a jumper followed by a three-point play of his own to push Grand View's lead to 43-35. Gaston continued his strong play with consecutive layups in the paint, and Young made two free throws to give the Vikings a commanding 49-40 lead. Gaston added another layup to extend the advantage to 51-40, and Helms scored in the paint to make it 53-42. Carson Bennett converted two free throws, and Gaston scored again in the paint to push the lead to 57-44. Young scored a layup in the paint off a steal to give Grand View their largest lead of the game at 59-44. Helms made two more free throws, and Watters added a free throw to extend the advantage to 62-48. The Bobcats made a late push to cut the deficit, but Helms responded with a crucial dunk assisted by Gaston to make it 66-57. Peru State continued to battle back, but Gaston sealed the victory by making two free throws in the final seconds as the Vikings held on for a 69-65 win.

GAME NOTES:

• Lukas Helms led the Vikings with 19 points on 7-11 shooting, adding 1 rebound, 1 block, and 1 steal.
• Daviyon Gaston contributed 16 points with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals in a complete performance.
• Jaxson Young added 14 points along with 5 assists 1 steal and 1 block.
• Matthew Watters chipped in 5 points with 3 rebounds, while Rodell Davis Jr. provided 6 points off the bench with two crucial three-pointers.
• Grand View shot 49.1% from the field and held a 34-20 advantage in points off turnovers.
• The Vikings dominated in the paint with 34 points and held Peru State to just 44.6% shooting.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Grand View improves their record with this important road victory. The Vikings will look to build on this momentum in their next matchup against Mid-America Nazarene on Saturday, December 13^th.