Box Score Elsah, ILL. -- The Panthers took on visiting Greenville College tonight in a conference battle. The team hung tough but Greenville proved to be too much, and the Panthers fell 118-109. The game was close for most of the contest and the Panthers cut the lead multiple times in the second half but Greenville took control late to seal a victory.
Greenville jumped out to an early lead scoring the first two baskets of the game on deep balls. Junior
Parker Davidson got the Panthers off the snide with a layup at the 17:50 mark. The Panthers got contributions all over the starting unit as the half progressed including some thunderous finishes by senior
Adaku Anumu. At the 11:22 point Greenville had built a 20-point lead as their fast paced style appeared to over match the Panthers.
The team rallied though, and over the next ten minutes played inspired ball getting a multitude of layups from Ball, Anumu, and Davidson. Freshman
TreVaughn Goodman and sophomore
Micah Paulson also got in on the action that include a three ball from Paulson in the corner to cut the lead from seven to four. After a few defensive stops, Anumu made a layup with 51 seconds left to tie the game at 62. Greenville got a layup on the last possession and took a two-point lead to the half.
After the break Greenville took a quick lead on a couple of long balls. Anumu and Davidson answered back with the transition and finished to tie the game up three minutes into the second half. The teams traded blows over the next seven minutes until a couple of three balls from Greenville, which gave them a seven-point lead with 10:32 remaining.
Greenville extended their lead up to 12 points until the Panthers fought back and shrunk it to five after a series that was finished off by a Paulson floater. Greenville responded with a run and once again built a double-digit lead. The Panthers had one run left though and after a dunk by Ball and a layup by Paulson, the lead was back down to five, 109-104. After free throws from Greenville, the next possession saw Paulson get fouled while shooting a three-pointer. He hit all three foul shots to make the deficit four with 1:09 left. The next possession down Greenville's Kenny Greene hit a deep three ball essentially icing the game.
It was a great effort by the Panthers who fell to 7-7 in conference. Ball led the way with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Goodman had 21 points in 19 minutes of action. Paulson had 19 and Anumu added 15.
Davidson notched a double-double with 24 points and 13 boards. Also of note for Davidson, just a couple of minutes into the game Parker grabbed his second board of the evening, which gave him the all time career rebound record for Principia. The record had stood for over 20 years. Hats off to Parker for a great accomplishment.
Up next the Panthers have a quick turnaround as they host Fontbonne at home tomorrow night at 7:00 pm.
