Mount Mercy Survives Late Run from Graceland

LAMONI - The Graceland University Men's Basketball team lost earlier tonight to Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Graceland's 92-81 loss drops them to 2-14 overall and 1-13 in Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) play.

Graceland and Mount Mercy played a back and forth game five minutes in as the Mustangs led 14-12. Over the following five minutes, Mount Mercy began to pull away taking a 25-16 lead with 11:32 left in the first half. The Mustangs pushed the lead to double digits with just over six minutes remaining in the half. After cutting it to six shortly after, Graceland fell behind by as many as 13 before the break. They trailed the Mustangs 49-38 at halftime in Cedar Rapids.

Mount Mercy extended their lead even further to begin the second half. At the under 10-minute media timeout, the Mustangs led by 20 points going up 76-56. In just four minutes, Graceland cut the deficit down to 10 points with 5:39 still to play. They trailed 76-66 to force a Mount Mercy timeout. After trading baskets over the next several possessions, the Yellowjackets slowly chipped away at the Mustang lead. Graceland was able to come within seven points with just under a minute left. Mount Mercy survived the late scare in the end, and held on for an 11-point victory.

Statistically, Graceland was led by Jevon Burton who tallied a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Nick Coleman and Tramarcus Levi each added 18 points apiece for the Yellowjackets as well. Coleman also dished out a game-high eight assists.

Up next for Graceland, they will travel to MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kan. on Wednesday night for a 7:30 p.m. tip.

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- Yellowjackets -