The Park University men's basketball program has defended Breckon Sports Center well to finish out December with back-to-back wins, most recently on Saturday against Culver-Stockton College 80-70.

Park has crossed the .500 mark at 7-6 on the season with a 6-3 Heart of America Athletic Conference record. Culver-Stockton has had some difficulties getting off the ground in 2024 and sit only at 2-10 overall and 2-6 in conference play.

Of Course, how could one forget the excitement from the last time these teams met on Claude English Court. It was a 77-72 victory for Park to seal a spot in the 2024 Heart Conference Tournament, which was only made possible by a five-game win streak to close the 2023-24 regular season.

Within the first five minutes of play, the Pirates looked to be in control with a 13-3 lead. An 11-0 run is exactly the way Park wanted to start things off, while the Wildcats were cold after their opening baskets, going 0-6 during the Pirates' run. Culver-Stockton ended the drought with a three-pointer, only to be answered by a deep ball from Abubkar Kromah the other way at 14:51, 16-6. Christian Bradford and Jaden Robinson continued to pound the glass and the paint with an offensive rebound and put back from Bradford and a layup for Robinson to extend the lead to 20-6. Park matched a 5-0 run by Culver-Stockton beautifully with a Jasigha Barnes triple and a Robinson tip-in off the offensive board. Five made-three pointers under 10 minutes for Culver-Stockton eventually wore down the lead, as the Wildcats in the last 7:36 outscored Park 24-16. Park was able to maintain the 45-37 lead at the half with big shots coming with less than a minute to go in the half, as Gagi Gvalia and Barnes both sunk three-pointers.

The Wildcats immediately tied the game in the opening minutes of the second half with an 8-0 run, which also forced a Park timeout. After a made free-throw and another bucket by Bradford, Culver-Stockton went on a 4-0 run to gain their first lead since the opening minute of the first half, 49-48. Barnes took the lead back at the 15:01 mark as Kromah found Barnes for the open lay-in, 50-49. There would be six lead changes in some back-and-forth basketball in the first 10 minutes of the second half, as Park took the 61-60 lead at 10:00 on a pair of free-throws by Kromah. The defense started to kick it into high gear with a block from Tristan McRoberts and a steal and lay-up by Raliek Redd to give Park a 65-60 lead with 8:18 to play. Redd got his number called once again when Barnes found him for an open three to put Park up eight points, 68-60 with 7:19 to go. This time three-point shooting showcased by Barnes with two makes inside seven minutes bolstered Park's lead 76-67 with 3:21 remaining. The Wildcats were able to convert a steal to a bucket at 2:59 to come within seven points, but they went cold from beyond the arc with three missed three-pointers and another two missed two-point field goals and the Pirates were able to ease in to a 80-70 win.

Park shot 47.8-percent for the game, while the Wildcats were 36.9-percent. The Wildcats began the first half 8-of-17 from three-point range in the first half to Park's five-of-11, but Culver-Stockton went cold in the second half shooting only two-of-12. In the end three-point shooting balanced out for both teams at 34-percent, 10-of-29 for the Wildcats and eight-of-23 for Park.

The Wildcats performed better from the line at 12-of-16, while Park left some points on the floor with eight-of-14 made in free-throws.

Turnovers were about even, 10 for Park and eight for Culver-Stockton. It only amounted to one extra basket for Culver-Stockton in points off turnovers.

The Pirates and Wildcats each had 13 offensive rebounds, but Park had six more second chance points, 13 to seven.

The inside approach for Park proved more effective in the long run with 20 more points in the paint than the Wildcats.

Culver-Stockton had five more points off their bench than Park.

Barnes with five made three-pointers led Park with 23 points and nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds. Bradford did reach a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Putting up impressive numbers in his own right was Robinson with 18 points with a team leading four steals.

Kromah, Barnes, and Robinson were moving the ball around nicely with six, five, and four assists, respectively.

Redd in just 18 minutes played and his Pirate debut scored nine points and added four assists to help the team.

We are getting used to a steady stream of blocks by Park lately, as three Pirates had multiple blocks, including Barnes with three, Kromah with two, and McRoberts with two as well.

Park will battle with No. 25 Graceland University to finish out play before the New Year break. Park is in Lamoni, Iowa on Monday, December 16 at 2pm.  WATCH
Box Score