UNIVERSITY PARK (Interstat) — Juan Madrigal scored 31 points and Luke Stuckey added 29 as Culver-Stockton beat Governors State 91-81 in a men’s NAIA basketball game on Friday. Culver-Stockton improved to 1-0. Governors State fell to 0-2 after its second loss to open the season. Madrigal, the Wildcats’ top star, also had four rebounds and six assists in 35 minutes. Stuckey finished with three rebounds, one assist and one block in 33 minutes. Kyle Tolbert led Governors State with 27 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes.

Culver-Stockton erased an early Governors State lead after a high-scoring first quarter. The Jaguars scored 47 points in the first quarter, while Culver-Stockton scored 44. Culver-Stockton then outscored Governors State 47-34 over the rest of the game. In the first quarter, Tarez Lee Jr. opened with two 3-point jump shots for Governors State, and Kyle Tolbert added a layup and a 3-point jumper. Culver-Stockton answered with layups from Anthony Lacy, Kamren Hogan and Stephen Reed, plus 3-pointers from Luke Stuckey and Damar Jenkins. Stuckey made several 3-pointers later in the first half, and Madrigal scored on drives, dunks and free throws as the Wildcats moved in front. Governors State held a 47-44 lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter, Connor Brown opened with a layup for Culver-Stockton, and Madrigal later hit a 3-pointer and dunked as part of a Wildcats surge. Tolbert kept the Jaguars close with layups and free throws, while Jaloni Johnson hit a 3-point jumper late in the period. CJ Claxton made a 3-point jumper at the end of the second quarter for Governors State, and Madrigal added a free throw before the break.

Culver-Stockton shot 32 of 67 from the floor, 12 of 27 from 3-point range and 15 of 23 from the free-throw line. Governors State shot 29 of 56 from the field, 8 of 18 from beyond the arc and 15 of 21 from the line. Culver-Stockton had 42 total rebounds, including 12 offensive rebounds, while Governors State had 34 total rebounds and six offensive rebounds. The Wildcats scored 91 points from 76 possessions for an offensive rating of 119.9. The Jaguars scored 81 points from 77 possessions for an offensive rating of 105.2. Culver-Stockton had seven assists, two blocks, 10 turnovers and 18 fouls. Governors State had four assists, five blocks, 17 turnovers and 21 fouls.

Joshua Cooper contributed a free throw and a layup for Governors State, and Levi Goad made two layups. Matthew Hoarde made free throws, a layup and a jump shot. Matthew Lesure made two layups, a jump shot and a free throw. For Culver-Stockton, Kamren Hogan made three layups, Connor Brown made a layup and a free throw, and Adam Brown added a layup. Damar Jenkins made a 3-point jumper and a free throw.

Tarez Lee Jr. added 12 points, two rebounds and two assists for Governors State in 25 minutes. Matthew Hoarde had eight points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 26 minutes. Jaloni Johnson contributed nine points, one rebound, six assists and two blocks in 30 minutes. Matthew Lesure finished with eight points, four rebounds, one assist and one block in 24 minutes. Deven Jiles had six points, two rebounds and one assist in seven minutes. Stephen Reed added eight points, five rebounds and three assists for Culver-Stockton in 20 minutes. Anthony Lacy had eight points, three rebounds and one block in 23 minutes.

Governors State, which lost at Huntington in its opener, dropped to 0-2. Culver-Stockton moved to 1-0. Culver-Stockton is scheduled to visit Northwestern (Iowa) next, then play at UHSP and Hannibal-LaGrange. Governors State will host William Penn next, then visit IU Kokomo.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Governors State 75, Culver-Stockton 66 and gave Governors State a 93.5 percent probability to win.