Elsah, IL- The Principia Panthers played host to the Iowa Wesleyan tigers in their 10
th conference game of the season. Coming into the game Iowa sat at 3-6 in conference play while the Panthers at 5-4. Iowa has been competitive in every game they have played and are an extremely talented team offensively. Today's game was back and forth but in the end Principia was able to get defensive stops and pull out the 87-79 victory over the Tigers.
The game got off to a very even pace as both teams attempted to get a feel for each other, but Principia was able to execute offensively the first few possessions and got an early 3 point lead. The Tigers fought back quickly and was able to string together a few baskets to give them a 4 point lead just a few minutes later. The first half was evenly played as both teams struggled to get stops on the defensive ends of the floor. Principia was able to take a 7 point lead with just a few minutes remaining in the first half but once again Iowa was able to go on a 5-0 run to cut the lead down to 2 with just seconds remaining in the first half. As Iowa set up a final play for the half
TreVaughn Goodman jumped a wing pass and raced down the floor for the two hand slam just before half giving the Panthers a massive boost heading into the locker room.
Principia came out in the second half determined and ready to ramp up their play.
Brennan Paulson opened up the half with a 3 pointer and the Panthers cruised from there. For the next 5 minutes both teams played even as the Principia lead hung between 5-8 points. Iowa switched into a 1-3-1 defense and was able to take advantage of a few missed shots by Prin to climb back into the game and took a 4 point lead with 12 minutes left in the game. For the next 9 minutes both teams played each other tight as the game was in a grid lock until
Jeff Ross hit a bomb from three point land right in front of the Panther bench. His shot gave a spark to the team defensively as they were able to get a stop on defense and turn it into another three pointer by
Micah Paulson. The Panthers took an 8 point lead with just 3 minutes remaining and were able to play solid the rest of the way.
Iowa provided a tough test for the Panthers but when the game was on the line Principia dug deep and executed down the stretch to take the 87-79 victory.
Notable Performance
Principia once again shot over 50% from the field and had 4 starters in double digits. This was an extremely balanced game with contributions from everyone.
TreVaughn Goodman led the scoring with 33 points, while
Parker Davidson had a monster game on the boards with 19 rebounds.
Up Next
Principia will be at home against Webster University at 7pm in Elsah on Tuesday January 23
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