Central Methodist fended off a late comeback from Grand View University to pick up a 98-89 victory over the Vikings Saturday night inside Puckett Field House.

The win is Central’s eighth in the last nine games and improves its record to 17-3 overall and 13-3 in the Heart of America. Grand View remains under .500 at 9-11 overall and 6-10 in conference action.

The Eagles were firing on all cylinders in the first half, dropping 51 points in the first 20 minutes of the game. Central held a 13-point advantage over Grand View at halftime, their largest lead of the game up to that point.

CMU would push their lead to as many as 26 points in the opening nine minutes of the second half. However, Grand View would not back down. In the final 11 minutes, the Vikings outscored Central 31-15 to make the final score a single-digit victory for the Eagles.

CMU’s TreVon Smith led all scorers with 27 points, highlighted by an astounding seven 3-point baskets. In addition, the junior guard tallied five rebounds and two assists. Everett Stubblefield had a monster game with 17 points, a career-high 10 assists, and seven rebounds. 

Isaiah Williams followed with 16 points in 22 minutes off the bench, including perfect 4-for-4 shooting from downtown. Peter Turay finished the evening with 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals.

Isaiah May provided a steady presence with five points, five rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and a steal.

As a team, Central was on fire from the arc, knocking down 17 3-point baskets for a stellar 47.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

The 17 threes are the most made by a CMU team in the last seven seasons. The Eagles previously knocked down 16 triples against Central Christian College on Nov. 7, 2016.

Altogether, CMU converted on 55.9 percent of their attempts from the floor and dished out an assist on 25 of their 38 made baskets.

Central won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Vikings 40-29. 

Central hits the road tonight (Wednesday) against Heart foe Baker University at 7:30 p.m. in Baldwin City, Kan. The Eagles won the first matchup by a score of 89-86 back on Nov. 25 in Fayette. On Saturday, CMU heads to Peru State for a 4 p.m. tipoff.

The Eagles return home next week to host William Penn (IA) on Wednesday and Graceland on Saturday.