For the second time in four days, a crucial conference win evaded the Central Methodist men on their home court.

Colton Kolowski hit the game-winning 3-pointer with three seconds left to give Grand View a 77-75 win over the Eagles.

“I’m most disappointed that we’re not representing the University like I think we should,” CMU coach Jeff Sherman said.

“We got beat by a team that just flat out played harder. They played smarter and they played more together. And those are the three things that we just will hang our hat on.”

Isaiah Burton muscled up a shot to give Central Methodist a one-point lead with just over eight seconds left. The Eagles had three fouls to give and the plan was to used them all, leaving Grand View with little time on the clock to attempt the winning shot.

The Eagles never committed the second foul and Kolowski hit a tough shot, fading to his left as the ball dropped in.

“That’s a hell of a shot that he makes, but he wasn’t even supposed to shoot,” Sherman said.

“I think we fouled them, they didn’t call it. But you’ve got to really make sure the foul’s a foul. I’m extremely disappointed.”

Central Methodist took a 33-20 first half lead on a 3-pointer from James Byrd with 3:24 left in the period. Grand View made four of its next five attempts to trail by just three at the half. The Vikings carried that momentum into the second half, outscoring CMU 26-6 over a nine minute stretch.

“I think we lost the game basically about that time,” Sherman said. “We could have put them away, but we got sloppy, we got careless, and we allowed them to believe that they could stay and beat us.”

Prior to that run, Grand View was 2-11 from the 3-point line. They made 10 of 14 from long range over the last 24 minutes.

Byrd had six points and two assists in the two minutes following Grand View’s run as the Eagles went on a 10-0 run to retake the lead. Byrd finished with 24 points, seven assists, and two steals. Christian Soderholm had 15 points. Josh Robinson scored 12 and had four assists. Burton had nine points and four assists.

Noah Patrick had a big 3-pointer to give CMU a 72-69 lead with two minutes left, but the Central Methodist bench was outscored 30-9 on the night. The Viking bench was 11-17 from the field and 5-6 from 3-point range.

“We have not had a game all year where I’ve had four players have good games, one of their best games of the year,” Sherman said. “Usually one or two guys have good games and then a couple guys have bad games. We just haven’t been able to get everybody on the same page on the same night.”

The last four home losses have come by six points or less, with the last two coming down to the final possession.

“We know we can go out there and play with anybody, but the bottom line is, it’s easy for anybody to say that,” Sherman said. “It’s time to quit talking and be able to get out there and do it.”

CMU 77, MNU 65

Central Methodist erased a four-point halftime deficit with a 20-2 run in a 77-65 win over MidAmeria Nazarene on Monday.

The Eagles bounced back from a pair of tough losses with just their second home win of the season. CMU has a record of 7-14, and 6-9 in conference play.

Rijnard Hartman was 5-8 for 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Kyle McDermed had 15 points while James Byrd finished with 14 points, seven assists and three steals.

Isaiah Burton had eight points. Josh Robinson had seven points and five assists.

Trae Meny and Noah Patrick each went 2-3 from the 3-point line, each scoring eight points off of the Eagle bench.

Clarke 82, CMU 79

James Byrd’s game-tying 3-pointer went in and out before the buzzer sounded in CMU’s 82-79 loss to Clarke on Wednesday.

The Eagles came back from a 12-point deficit in the first half to take a one-point lead in the second. The Pride led 78-71 with just over three minutes left when CMU went on a 6-0 run with two buckets from Josh Robinson.

The Eagles went 1-5 over the final two minutes. Noah Patrick cut the lead to 81-79 with 15 seconds left, but the Eagles’ other attempts missed the mark.

Rijnard Hartman was 7-10 for 15 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. Byrd had 26 points, five steals and four assists. Josh Robison had 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Patrick had eight points and three assists off of the bench.