Park University's men's basketball program took on one of the best in the Heart of America Athletic Conference on Saturday in Central Methodist University on the road, but after two hard-fought halves, the Eagles claimed the win over Park 96-85.

Park is currently No. 8 in the conference with a 4-6 Heart record and are 6-8 on the season. It's been a tough stretch in recent weeks with their third straight loss. The Eagles, on the other hand, are No. 3 in the conference with an 8-2 Heart record and are 12-2 on the regular season.

Augusto Hausmann and DeMarcus Hudson got Park on the board with their team's first four points, but the Eagles had two made three-pointers to begin the game with another two-point basket tacked on for a 8-4 lead. A 6-0 run paved the way for the Pirates to regain the lead 10-8 on account of AJ Watson, Jasigha Barnes, and Hausmann with 14:56 remaining. The Eagles went on an 8-0 run immediately following and through 12:16 led 18-11.

It was turning into a big-man's game as Park's forwards Christian Bradford and Gagi Gvalia combined for the game's next 10 points to turn the tide, 21-20 over Central Methodist. The Pirates had 50 points in the paint for the game with 40 of those points coming from Park's forwards, Hausmann, Bradford, and Gvalia. Central Methodist looked to put some distance between them and Park, but Barnes had other plans with a three-pointer at 8:23 to tie the game at 24-all. A 5-2 run by the Pirates gave the lead back to them 29-26 with under 6:00 to play in the first half. Both sides seemed to have the answer for the other offensively, but in the last 2:35 of the half, Barnes and Bradford got back-to-back buckets for a 37-37 tie. After a basket from the Eagles, Kelyn Bolton made his presence known with a three-pointer for a 40-39 lead. Watson had the last two made shots for Park of the half to edge the Eagles 44-41 at the break.

The lead changed hands four times within the first 3:10 of the second half. Hudson and Watson showed their deep threat game, knocking down three-pointers for the 56-54 lead at 16:50. Still neither side gained much separation for several minutes. Watson grabbed another three-pointer to boost Park to a 4-point lead at 13:38, 64-60. From 12:35 to 10:34, the Eagles had the biggest run of the game with 13 unanswered points for a 75-66 lead. The Eagles continued to gain control of the game and led by 13 points with 7:54 remaining, 83-70. After some battling, Park was able to come within five points on scores from Bradford, Barnes, and a free-throw by Hudson at 85-80 with 4:32 to go. The Eagles would not relinquish the lead though with a 7-0 run to go up 92-80 with 2:42 left. The game was effectively sealed by Central Methodist 96-85 by the time the final horn rang. A 55-point second half propelled the Eagles over Park.

Both teams shot it at a high clip for the game, 50-percent for Park and 52.1-percent by Central Methodist.

It was a relatively even three-point showing by both teams, seven-of-20 for Park and 10-of-27 by the Eagles, 35-percent and 37-percent respectively.

Below 50-percent from the free-throw line by Park was too low of a bar at six-of-14, which gave the Eagles a six-point advantage on their 12-of-19 from the line.
Park won the turnover battle with 10 turnovers compared to 13 by the Eagles.

The Eagles won in rebounding with 47 rebounds to Park's 35, which included four more offensive rebounds by Central Methodist.

Bradford had an outstanding effort on the glass with 15 rebounds and 15 points for a double-double. Hausmann, the senior starting forward, led the team in scoring with 19 points and was one rebound shy of double-double numbers.

Watson put on a scoring clinic with 18 points and matched Hausmann with three assists. Barnes was the only player with more assists with four and had his best scoring performance of Heart play with 13 points.

Hudson's 11 points made it so each starter went over the 10 count in points for the night.

The Pirates will move on to Grand View University on Wednesday, January 10 inside Breckon Sports Center at 7:30pm. WATCH

Box Score