REC CENTER – A 10-2 run in the first three minutes of the second half stretched the Peregrine lead to 34-16. And they were never threatened again. The Peregrines’ (8-5) offense rolled in the second half hitting 54 percent from the field helping to seal a 60-39 victory against the Taylor University Trojans (8-8). The score was the largest margin of victory for the Peregrines this season.The Peregrines enjoyed a 10-point cushion at the half, but Taylor scored on its first possession of the second half to draw within 24-16. That’s when the Peregrine offense kicked into gear and scored on five of their next seven possessions.

Vince Johnson (Bishop Noll) hit a jumper in the lane to start the run. He hit a pair of free throws on PUC’s next possession and finished with five points, five rebounds, two assists and steals and one shot block.

Steve Polak (Clark) swiped the ball on Taylor’s next possession. Polak pushed the ball up the court and slipped a perfectly timed pass to teammate Charles Cruz (Gavit) who finished the fast break with a layup. Two possessions later, Cruz returned the favor and found Polak on the wing for a wide-open jumper.

On its next possession, PUC’s Minuyard Wheeler (Wirt) flipped the ball to guard Marcus Ford (Wirt) who hit a six-foot jumper in the lane. Taylor called a timeout, but the damage was done.

Wheeler led all scorers with 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and shot 50 percent from the field. He also led the team with nine rebounds in the contest. Lawrence Sandlin (Bishop Noll) enjoyed his season high scoring 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and he had two steals. Ford finished with nine points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Cruz scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds, had two assists, one shot block and one steal. And Polak finished with seven points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals and one shot block.

“It was a total team effort,” Head Coach Mike James said. “When you take a look at the balance of guys who contributed in the scoring department, the balance who grabbed rebounds and the number of players with assists and steals you know everyone worked their butt off on the floor.”

PUC hosts Indiana University Northwest at 6 p.m. Friday to finish the 2006 portion of the schedule.

Four Peregrines score double figures, slap a paint job on Bearcats
REC CENTER (Dec. 14, 2006) – Painting by numbers, the Peregrines chose the number 20 and converted each of those 20 attempts in the lane to dominate the inside game. Controlling the paint helped the Peregrines (7-5) finish with a 76-71 win against Brescia University (6-9) in front of a rowdy crowd.

PUC more than doubled its opponent’s output under the rim scoring 40 points compared to just 18 for the Bearcats for the game. While the Peregrines used their inside strength on the offensive end, the Bearcats racked up 30 points from the 3-point arc. They hit 50 percent of their three’s in the first half, but shot only 26 percent from the arc in the second half as the PUC defense closed out quicker around the 3-point stripe hampering Brescia’s shooting performance.

Senior captain Minuyard Wheeler (Wirt) led all scorers with 21 points, including seven in the final four minutes of action, and shot 60 percent from the field in the win. Wheeler also had four assists and one steal.

When Wheeler wasn’t scoring on the inside, teammates Charles Cruz (Gavit) and Vince Johnson (Bishop Noll) picked up the slack. Cruz finished with 17 points hitting 53 percent from the field, and he grabbed four rebounds. Johnson led all scorers at the half with a dozen. The junior swingman finished the night with 16 points shooting 54 percent from the field, which included two thunderous dunks in the second half, one blocked shot in the first and eight rebounds overall leading both squads.

Junior guard Steve Polak was the fourth Peregrine to enjoy a double digit scoring night. Polak connected on three 3-point baskets in the first 20 minutes and finished the game with 11 points and six rebounds in the win. Point guard Marcus Ford added seven more assists to his team high 46 on the season (3.8 per game). The senior also added six points to the offense.

On the offense, PUC shot 59 percent from the field in the second half and finished hitting 50 percent of its shots for the contest compared to Brescia’s 45 percent. PUC had a slight edge scoring 11 points off Brescia turnovers, while the Bearcats scored seven points on PUC turnovers.

The men host Taylor University (8-7) next Tuesday beginning at 7 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for this Saturday.