The Central Methodist basketball teams pulled off a sweep of Mount Mercy in front of a home crowd at Puckett Fieldhouse on Saturday, honoring their seniors before the games. The men will move on to the post-season tonight.

Women

Mount Mercy 69

CMU 82

The Lady Eagles concluded the 2024-25 season with an 82-69 victory over Mount Mercy University on Saturday afternoon at home for Senior Day.

Prior to tipoff, Central recognized members of both its varsity and varsity reserve senior classes, which included Kaylee Flores, Renee Finke, Bryann Magers, Sharay Trotter, Tristan Porter, Alanna Crumley, and Kayhla Adams.

Central opened the game hot, outscoring Mount Mercy 20-7 in the first quarter. The Mustangs outscored CMU 26-25 in the second frame, but Central still held a 45-33 lead at halftime.

It was a more even second half for both teams, but Central’s big first quarter was enough to secure a double-digit victory at home.

Five different Eagles landed in double figures, including four of the starting five. Trotter led the Eagles’ offense with 16 points, seven boards, and three assists in the final game of her career. Nautica Washington, a contender for Heart Freshman of the Year honors, finished her afternoon with 15 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Porter produced the second-highest scoring output of her season, tallying 14 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

Adams played a pivotal role off the bench, chipping in 12 points, including a pair of 3-point baskets.

Mary Copeland rounded out Central’s double-digit scorers with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor.

Central shot 47 percent from the floor and went a perfect 14-of-14 from the foul line.

CMU closes its first season of a rebuilding effort under Dustyn Yung with a final record of 9-19 overall and 6-18 in the Heart of America.

Men

Mount Mercy 75

CMU 92

The Central Methodist men ended the regular season on a high note, cruising past Mount Mercy University, 92-75, on Senior Day.

Before tipoff, the program honored its 2024-25 senior class, including Mario Fantina, Bol Tong, Christian Barbieri, Charlie Bronakowski, Thomas Sowoolu, and Marcus Anthony.

Central held a commanding 50-36 lead at the halftime break. Despite Mount Mercy keeping pace with Central in the second half, the Eagles still came away with a double-digit win.

Five Eagles landed in double figures, including three in the starting lineup. Tong led the Eagles in scoring with 21 points, which included two 3-point baskets. Anthony was right behind him with 18 points, adding nine assists and four rebounds.

Kevin James came off the bench and contributed 17 points, four rebounds, and three assists while forcing three steals on the defensive end. Brandon Tchouya finished the afternoon with 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

Fantina rounded out the double-digit scorers for CMU, scoring 12 points with a team-leading three 3-point baskets.

The Eagles had tremendous ball movement throughout the game, assisting on 25 of 35 made baskets.

With the win, Central improves its overall record to 15-13 and 12-12 in the Heart of America. Mount Mercy sees its season come to an end with a final record of 4-24 and 3-21 in conference play.

The Eagles have clinched the No. 7 seed in the post-season Heart Tournament and will take on No. 2 Graceland University in the quarterfinals tonight (Wednesday) at 7 p.m. in Lamoni, Iowa.