The Central Methodist men concluded the 2024-25 campaign after falling to second-seeded Graceland in the quarterfinals of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Wednesday night in Lamoni, Iowa, 78-75.

It was an intense back-and-forth battle all game long in the third meeting of the season between the two teams. Central lost all three matchups, with the final margin shrinking each time.

The Eagles could not have asked for a better way to begin the night after jumping out to an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes of action. Despite Graceland battling to even the score, Central kept a steady lead over the Yellowjackets. Central’s lead increased to double digits as Destin Jenkins knocked down a triple to put CMU up 21-10.

Graceland continued to creep back into the game, coming within five points at the 8:00 mark of the half. A layup by Kevin James two minutes later put Central up by seven. CMU maintained that lead into the final stages of the half before a three from Graceland cut the lead to four entering the halftime break.

Graceland secured its first lead of the game, 48-47, at the 17:23 mark of the second half. After this point, both teams began trading baskets for the remainder of the night.

With 15 minutes to go, the Eagles were down by four. However, a layup from Bol Tong and a three from Mario Fantina evened the score at 56-56. 

With under nine minutes left, Marcus Anthony continued his stellar night, giving the Eagles a 66-64 lead on one of his four made 3-pointers. Four minutes later, he tied the score at 71-71 following a made jumper.

The Yellowjackets eventually regained the lead following a pair of free-throw makes with 27 seconds left. After a missed three by the Eagles, Graceland added one more point from the charity stripe to extend its advantage to three points.

Central had no timeouts remaining and had just over a handful of seconds to tie the game. A desperation three fell short and resulted in the narrow, heartbreaking loss for the Eagles. 

Anthony produced the best game of his career in his final contest in an Eagle uniform. The senior recorded a game-high 35 points, with 22 of those coming in the first half. Anthony shot better than 50 percent from the floor, which included four threes. He also dished out five assists and pulled down four rebounds.

Bol Tong was the only other Eagle in double figures with 11 points and a team-leading six rebounds.

CMU shot 47 percent from the floor and an even 50 percent from beyond the arc. Both Central and Graceland struggled from the free throw line, converting only 63.2 and 53.6 percent of their attempts, respectively.

The battle of the boards ended in a deadlock, as both teams grabbed 28 rebounds apiece.

The Eagles conclude their season with a 15-13 record and a 12-12 mark in the Heart of America.