LAMONI, Iowa -- The Graceland (Iowa) men's basketball team defeated No. 10 Central Methodist (Mo.) in a thrilling end which saw the Jackets hold off the conference-leading Eagles in the final seconds to win, 79-73 on Saturday (Feb. 6).

The Graceland men played a solid first half, but both squads seemed merely to be gearing up for a second half showdown as Graceland took a 33-29 lead into the break.

As expected, both sides exploded offensively in the second half, with Graceland putting up 46 points to the Eagles' 44. The Jackets would shoot sixty percent from three-point range and out-rebound their guests 42-27 in the victory.

Jewell Carter (Kansas City, KS) led Graceland with 35 points while Jake Smith (Mt. Vernon, IN) collected a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

"This was the biggest win of the season," said Coach Jeff Hamilton after the game. "We had many guys step up and make big shots, and we held their leading scorer to six free throws and a couple of field goals. I'm so proud of these guys; it just shows me that we still have some fight left in us, and hopefully we can carry this momentum through to the rest of the season," concluded Coach Hamilton.

The Jackets will face William Jewell University in their next matchup, which will be at 7:30pm on Monday, February 8th in Liberty, Missouri. Stay tuned to the GU athletics website for continuing coverage of men's basketball and all of Graceland athletics.