Elsah, IL- The Principia Panthers played host to the Eureka College Red Devils in their second consecutive home conference game. Going into the game both teams were coming off of wins and looked to keep the streak going. Eureka College had a 4-1 conference record and sat tied for first place in the conference. Principia came into the game at 3-2 in conference play and was ready for the tough test. A tough battle back and forth ended with a Panther victory with a score of 94-88.
Principia came out of the gates quickly, snagging a 5-0 lead in the early moments of the game, but the Red Devils fired back quickly with their explosive offense and were able to jump out to a 16-11 lead just moments later. The first half consisted of a fast paced back and forth offensive battle. The Panthers were led by
Jeff Ross in the first half who showed off his skill set both on the offensive side of the floor and the defensive. In the first half he had a monster 15 points to go along with 8 boards. Some timely 3 point shooting by
Jeff Ross and
Brennan Paulson kept Eureka from stretching their lead halfway through the first half. With 1:46 left in the first half a layup by
Parker Davidson started a run for Principia to close the first half. Some stingy defense and consecutive three pointers helped grow the Panther lead in the closing seconds of the half. After two free throws the Panthers went into the locker room with an 8 point lead with a score of 52-44.
The second half continued to be a dogfight as both teams scrapped back and forth in search of a victory. Eureka got off to a good start in the second half getting an easy back door layup followed by a quick 3 pointer, cutting into the Principia lead.
TreVaughn Goodman got the team back on track with a steal directly into a layup. Eureka switched to a zone defense around the 11 minute mark which caused the Panthers a minute of confusion. This lapse didn't last long as
Micah Paulson caught fire and shot Eureka right back out of their zone. Just when Eureka looked as if they were taking control of the game,
Micah Paulson went unconscious from the three point line and hit three consecutive 3 pointers to snatch the game back.
Down the stretch, the Red Devils did not go quietly as their sharp shooting guards kept them in the game. A 3 pointer by Eureka cut into the 7 point lead for the Panthers but was quickly answered by an and-one layup by
Parker Davidson with 3 minutes remaining. Principia closed out the game with smart defense and solid free throw shooting to grab the 94-88 victory over top ranked opponent Eureka College.
Notable Performance:
Micah Paulson led all scorers with 34 points including 6 assists with only one turnover. Seniors
Parker Davidson and
Jeff Ross both turned in double-doubles in points and rebounds. Parker finished with 12 points 12 rebounds while Jeff finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Up Next
Principia will be on the road versus Greenville College on Tuesday at 7pm.
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