Elsah, IL- The Principia College Panthers played host to the Westminster College Blue Jays on Tuesday night for their 13
th conference game of the season. Both teams are close in the conference standings and in need of a win. Westminster won the first matchup with ease and Principia looked to even the series up back on their home court. An extremely balanced attack for the Panthers along with lock down defense led to a 77-57 point victory over the Blue Jays.
The game started off perfectly for Principia as they were able to execute on the both ends of the floor.
Micah Paulson started the game off with a block and brother
Brennan Paulson hit a 3 pointer off of good ball movement. The following offensive possession
TreVaughn Goodman was able to get to the basket for a layup to get the quick 5-0 start. Westminster was able to score a 2 pointer on their following possession but Principia was locked in defensively from that point forward and was able to go on an 9-0 scoring run jumping out to a 14-2 start to the game. At the 9:51 mark remaining in the first half
Micah Paulson cashed a three pointer to give the Panthers their biggest lead of the half at 13 points. The Blue Jays would not go down easily as they were able to go on a 10-1 run of their own and get back in the game. With 3 minutes left in the first half on a crucial possession the Panthers were able to get three shot attempts with two consecutive offensive boards. On the third attempt
Parker Davidson was able to bury a three point shot and give the Panthers a 5 point lead. Just before halftime
Jeff Ross got a layup off a nice dish from
Parker Davidson for an 8 point advantage heading into the locker room.
The second half got started off similar to the first half with good execution on both sides of the court.
Jeff Ross got the offense started off right with an offensive rebound and stick back while the whole team locked in defensively. The Panthers consistent work defensively and extra effort on the offensive glass allowed them to hold an 8-10 point lead for the first 12 minutes of the first half.
Brennan Paulson was able to make consecutive plays with an assist to
Jeff Ross and layup to begin to open up the lead. The Panthers stretched their lead to 18 points with 4 minutes left in the game with a layup by
Micah Paulson. The final icing was
Brennan Paulson making two free throws on a poor night from the line for the team. As both teams emptied their bench
Daniel Hoffman was able to step in and get his first points of the season with a made jumper off the pass from
Nick Jacobs.
Consistency and effort on both sides of the floor for the Panthers enabled them to keep control of the game over a tough opponent in the Blue Jays. Principia ultimately walked away with the 77-57 point win.
Good to Know:
Once again the Panthers rely on contributions from everyone to achieve the common goal. All five starters scored in double digits, while
Parker Davidson and
TreVaughn Goodman also had double digit rebounding.
Jeff Ross had a monster game with 17 points 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
Micah Paulson led all scorers with 19 points.
Up Next:
The Panthers are back on the road to take on Blackburn College Saturday February 3
rd at 2 pm.
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