Panthers Drop Game 1 of Bill Merris Tournament 94-63 vs. Illinois College

Jacksonville, IL- The Principia Men's Basketball team travelled to Jacksonville to take on the Illinois College Blue Boys in the their first game of the Bill Merris tournament. The Panthers should grit and a tenacity on defense, but were unable to prevail against the Blue Boys, falling 94-63.

The game started of slowly as both teams were unable to score early, until senior Micah Paulson opened the scoring with a pair of free throws with 17 minutes left in the first half. Evan Eisenauer followed with a pair of free throws of his own, and then a 3-pointer from Brennan Paulson would put the Panthers up 7-4. For the next few minutes, the Panthers would battle back and forth with the Blue Boys, until Trae Robinson would hit a lay-up with 14 minutes left, making the score 8-7, and the Panthers would not hold the lead again. 

The Panthers would go into halftime down 44-26, but would come out with a renewed sense of determination and commitment to defense. The Panthers would not let the Blue Boys score in the second half until the 16:38 mark, and the renewed commitment to defense was great to see from a team trying to scratch and claw their way back into the game. Nathan Brantingham would come in to play some big minutes in the half after Clark Davidson got his 5th foul with 9 minutes left in the game, finishing with 11 points and 6 rebounds. 

The Panthers struggled to score at times tonight, but their commitment to defense and to getting better as a unit was what was on display tonight. Illinois College would eventually pull away as the half went on, and the Panthers would fall by a score of 94-63.

Good To Know

Freshman Simon Karega knocked down a 3-pointer late in the second half of this game in his first action of the season, recording his first points of his college career. Senior Micah Paulson hit the 1,000 point milestone of his Principia career after finishing with a monster game of 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists. 

Up Next

The Panthers will play their second and final game of the Bill Merris tournament when they square off against Depauw University at 4:00 PM.