Galesburg, ILL. -- The Principia Panthers traveled to Galesburg, IL to play Knox College in their first game of the season. The Panthers start the season with five returning players and five freshman as they look to get off to a good start. Knox had one exhibition game against a tough opponent and were looking to start the regular season off with a win.
The game started off with a fast pace for both teams as each attempted to calm early game nerves. Knox came out hot from the three point line hitting a couple early shots. After the first 5 minutes of the game TreVaughn Goodman got the Panthers going with a couple aggressive layups at the rim. Principia began to lock in defensively and settled into the rhythm of the game.
Knox took an 18-6 lead with 14 minutes remaining in the first half before the Panthers began to chip away at the lead. Several defensive stops with big rebounds by Clark Davidson and buckets by senior Micah Paulson changed the momentum of the game. Principia played consistent on both ends of the floor and with 2:47 left in the first half TreVaughn Goodman completed an and-one after being fouled on a layup to tie the game 32-32. Just before half Knox hit a mid range jumper to take a one point lead going into halftime.
The second half was a tug of war game as both teams would take and re take the lead. Eight minutes into the second half Principia went down by 6 which would be the largest lead of the half for Knox. After a timeout the Panthers came out with much more focus and locked into the game. Freshman Zack Matters came off the bench and supplied big minutes, and with 10 minutes left would hit a huge three point shot that would give Prin the lead which would not be relinquished.
In the final minutes of the game multiple defensive stops and execution on offense allowed the Panther lead to balloon to 13 points and ultimately finish with a 89-76 victory. The first game and first win of the season was a total team effort.
Good to Know:
The Panthers were led in scoring by TreVaughn Goodman with 32 points and 12 rebounds, as well as Micah Paulson with 27 points 3 assists. Freshman Clark Davidson came up huge with a monster 12 point 13 rebound game. The Panthers shot an amazing 51.6% from the field an out rebounded Knox 44-34.
Up Next:
The Panthers open up at home on Saturday November 10th versus Millikin University at 7 pm in Hay Field House.
