Jacksonville, IL— In the headline game for the Illinois College Tournament Principia took on the host Illinois College Blueboys. A back and forth battle ended in overtime with the Panthers coming up just short with an 82-85 loss.
The game started of slow for Principia due to a lack of intensity on both ends of the floor. A few sloppy turnovers and missed shots as well as several inside buckets by Illinois College center opened a 13-6 advantage early in the game. After a timeout the Panthers were able to keep the game even for the next five minutes as both teams exchanged buckets.
With about 10 minutes left in the first half Principia picked up their defensive intensity and cut into the lead. A steal by
Micah Paulson followed by an "and one" on the break cut the Illinois College lead to just 1.
Parker Davidson got in the mix with a steal and layup to give us the first lead of the half at the 9 minute mark. Principia was able to stretch their lead to 6 points with back to back three pointers by
TreVaughn Goodman and
Micah Paulson. IC was able to cut that to just 1 at half with a pair of three pointers of their own and some free throws. Principia retained a 41-40 lead at half.
In the second half Principia came out with better intensity and was able to stretch their lead back to 6 points just 5 minutes into the second half.
Jeff Ross blocked a shot and followed it up with a layup to give the Panthers a lift. Just as it looked like they would push the lead wide open Principia allows IC to get back in the game with sloppy play on both ends of the floor.
The game swung back and forth for the remainder of the second half until the Blueboys took a 6 point lead with 4 minutes left in the game. The Panthers showed their fight and managed to tie the game up with just seconds left with a strong layup by Trevaughn Goodman. The game would go into OT with a 75-75 tie.
Foul trouble turned out to be a big factor for Principia as Micah and
Brennan Paulson fouled out, forcing freshman
Payton Sellers and junior
Evan Eisenauer to step in. A late turnover thwarted Principia's last chance as Illinois College took the game 85-82.
Notable Performance
TreVaughn Goodman led all scorers with 26 points and
Parker Davidson had a double double with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Up Next
Principia gets a quick opportunity to rebound with the second game of the Illinois College tournament versus University of the Ozarks at 2 pm back in Jacksonville, IL.
