Louisville, KY--The Principia Panthers took the long road trip to Louisville, KY to take on the the Golden Eagles of Spalding University on Thursday January 18th. Both teams sat in similar positions in conference standings and both badly wanted a win. Principia was able to score the ball efficiently but was not able to get stops against a hot shooting night for Spalding. The Panthers fought hard but ultimately fell 87-75.
Spalding jumped out early to a 5 point lead following a Panther turnover but Principia quickly found a groove offensively. A steal turned into a dunk by
Jeff Ross and a three point basket opened up a 16-9 lead just 7 minutes into the game. The Golden Eagles responded right back with some sharp shooting from three point land. The first half was a competitive and offensive half. For the final minutes of the first half both teams took turns with the lead until a buzzer beater by the Golden Eagles gave them a one point lead heading to the locker rooms. Â
The second half started with more of the same with both teams exchanging baskets. A layup by
TreVaughn Goodman at the 16 minute mark tied the game up. Unfortunately foul trouble began to creep up for the Panthers as well as a few turnovers. Spalding took advantage and began to build a lead up to 11 points. The Panthers snapped out of their mini scoring funk and climbed back into the game cutting the Spalding lead to 4 points with 8 minutes remaining. Principia battled hard the remainder of the game but couldn't string together any stops defensively as Spalding's hot shooting night continued. Both teams shot the ball efficiently with percentages over 50. In the end Spalding was able to defeat Principia 87-75.
He said it:
"This was a tough game for our guys, and a game we really wanted. They battled throughout but came up a bit short. We get a chance to bounce right back with a home conference game on Saturday. As we turn the corner to the second half of conference play, we really need to ramp up our play to make a run at the tournament."
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Matt Jones (assistant coach)
Up Next:
Principia will play host to Iowa Wesleyan University on Saturday, January 20th at 2 pm in Hay Field House.
