Men’s Basketball Strikes Down Clarke

Lamoni, Iowa - The Graceland University Men's Basketball team took on the Clarke University Pride. The Yellowjackets defeated the Pride, 96-79. Graceland move to 7-1 and are 3-0 in the conference.

Graceland (6-1; 3-0) | Clarke (3-5; 1-3)
Half 1: Graceland 47 | Clarke 29
The Yellowjackets would find the first points from a Patrick Fisher layup. Near the midway point, the Pride would even the score with a layup (8-8). Carter Brown would push the Yellowjackets to take the lead from three made charity stripes, and Fisher would follow from the deep (14-8). A five-point collection would come from an Akeen Woods layup and a Carson Busch three (26-17). Graceland would extend their lead to ten from an Amitai Afenjar layup (34-24). Graceland would add a nine-point run late, starting from an Afenjar made free throw and baskets from Brown, Woods, and Busch. Woods would close the first half with made free throws to post a halftime score of 47-29.

Half 2: Graceland 49 | Clarke 50
Aleksa Markovic would kickstart the second half from the line, followed by a Darrius Davis free throw and an Austin Braun three-pointer (53-29). The Pride would answer by pushing a seven-point jump (53-36). Graceland would retaliate by making a seven-point jump and baskets from Carson Busch, JY Smith, and Amitai Afenjar. The Yellowjackets would hold their largest lead over the Pride of 26 points from a Smith layup. Markovic would post ten consecutive points from Graceland. Clarke would retaliate with a nine-point increase to close their deficit to 14 points (87-73). A Braun basket from the deep would break the Clarke run. Graceland would hold their advantage over Clarke for a 96-79 victory.

By the numbers:
31-31 – The Yellowjackets and the Pride sank 31 field goals
10-5 – Graceland three pointer compared to Clarke
33-20 – The Yellowjackets bench points and the Pride bench point
48-43 – Graceland had 48 rebounds and Clarke had 43
15-4 – The Yellowjackets had 11 more fast break points than the Pride

Graceland Leaders:
Scoring Leader: Austin Braun / Aleksa Markovic – 16
Rebounding Leader: Darrius Davis – 8
Assist Leader: Austin Braun / Carson Busch – 3
Steal Leader: Patrick Fisher / JY Smith – 2

Clarke Leaders:
Scoring Leader: Daquon Lewis – 19
Rebounding Leader: Biggie Luster – 11
Assist Leader: Anthony Eddy / Daquon Lewis – 3
Steal Leader: Daquon Lewis – 3

Up Next:
The Yellowjackets will be back on the court on Wednesday, December 6 when they host the Culver-Stockton College Wildcats. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm.

-Yellowjackets-