DES MOINES, IOWA – The Grand View men's basketball team secured an important home victory over Central Methodist, defeating the Eagles 83-73 in a hard-fought Heart of America Conference contest at Dave Sisam Arena.

Grand View came out strong in the first half with Lukas Helms converting two free throws to give the Vikings an early 2-0 lead. Patrick Worrell scored a three-point play to put Grand View ahead 5-3, and Helms added a free throw to make it 6-3. After Central Methodist took a 10-6 lead, Jaxson Young knocked down a three-pointer assisted by Helms to cut it to 10-9. Helms followed with a jumper to make it 14-11, and Riley Edwards added a jumper to cut the deficit to 16-13. O'Shawn Jones-Winslow contributed a jumper to make it 18-15, and Edwards scored a fast-break layup to cut it to 20-17. Helms added a layup in the paint to bring Grand View within one at 20-19. Rodell Davis Jr. came off the bench and immediately made an impact, draining back-to-back three-pointers assisted by Daviyon Gaston to give the Vikings a 25-22 lead. Edwards added another jumper to extend it to 27-24, and Worrell scored a layup in the paint to make it 29-26. Young converted a three-point play to give Grand View a 32-31 lead, then added another layup to push it to 34-31. Worrell hit two jumpers to extend the advantage to 38-33, and Young capped the half with a three-pointer assisted by Edwards to give the Vikings a 41-40 halftime lead.

Grand View came out of the break with intensity and extended their lead in the second half. Young converted a free throw and added a layup to push the lead to 44-40. Joe Knutson hit a three-pointer assisted by Gaston to make it 47-41, and Young added another layup to extend it to 49-43. Helms scored a layup in the paint to push the advantage to 51-43, and Gaston added a fast-break layup to make it 53-45. Knutson converted two free throws to extend the lead to 55-47, and Young scored another layup to make it 57-50. Gaston added a layup assisted by Jones-Winslow, and Helms scored in the paint to give Grand View a 61-54 lead. Gaston converted a free throw to make it 62-58, and Young made two more free throws to push it to 64-58. Jones-Winslow added a free throw, and Knutson scored a layup to extend the advantage to 68-62. Helms knocked down a three-pointer assisted by Edwards to make it 71-63, then added a jumper to push the lead to 73-64. Young converted four free throws, including two technical free throws, to extend the advantage to 76-64. Luke Hart scored a layup to give Grand View their largest lead of 14 points at 79-65 with 2:34 remaining. Helms made two free throws to push it to 81-67, and Young sealed the victory with two more free throws in the final seconds as the Vikings held on for the 83-73 win.

GAME NOTES:

• Jaxson Young led the Vikings with 27 points on 7-12 shooting, including 2-of-2 from three-point range and 11-of-15 from the free-throw line, adding 10 rebounds for a double-double, along with 2 assists.
• Lukas Helms contributed 18 points on 6-11 shooting with 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and 1 steal in a complete performance.
• Joe Knutson added 17 points with 7 rebounds and 4 assists, while Patrick Worrell chipped in 9 points and 3 rebounds.
• Riley Edwards provided 6 points off the bench, and Rodell Davis Jr. added 6 points with two crucial three-pointers.
• Grand View shot 50.9% from the field and 42.9% from three-point range, holding a 23-24 rebounding advantage.
• The Vikings dominated with 17 points off turnovers compared to Central Methodist's 7.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Grand View will travel to Marshall, MO to face Missouri Valley College next Saturday Janurary 10th