Winsday: UJ makes third straight trip to Kansas City

The Jimmie men's basketball team earned its third straight trip to the NAIA National Tournament Round of 16 on Wednesday with a 95-88 win over Peru State (Neb.) College at Harold Newman Arena.

Mason Walters poured in a game-high 35 points, one of four Jimmies in double digits. Marc Kjos added a season-high 20 points, including six three-pointers. Will Cordes finished with 15 points and Cole Woodford 13.

Jamestown got off to a fast start, taking an 8-2 lead just 93 seconds into the game. The Bobcats went on a hot streak of their own, outscoring UJ 19-9 to pull in front by four with 12:22 in the half.

That would be the largest lead deficit the Jimmies faced in the first twenty minutes, and a Walters three-point play gave UJ its largest of the half (40-30) with 2:37 remaining.

A 12-2 start to the second half increased Jamestown's advantage to 20 and it appeared UJ was well on its way to victory. Down 74-60 at the eight-minute mark, Peru State locked in and made it a three-point game just under four minutes later.

Walters finished off a 10-1 Jimmie run that essentially put the game away at 91-79. The Bobcats did get as close as five down the stretch, but Reid Gastner and Cordes were perfect at the foul line to clinch the win.

Eleventh-ranked Jamestown (27-6) will face No. 6 Indiana Tech (29-4) on Tuesday at 5 p.m.