Elsah, IL- The Principia Men's Basketball team played host to the Greenville University Panthers in their second conference game of the season. Coming into the game Principia looked to get their first conference win of the season while Greenville University is 1-0. Greenville is the second highest scoring team in the nation and provided a true fitness test for Principia. The Principia Panthers battled hard the entire game but came up short versus the three -point barrage of Greenville with a final score of 131-99.
The game started off great for Principia as they stuck to their game plan and were crisp on both ends of the floor. As Greenville threw their full court trapping defense on, Principia was able to stay under control, find the open man, and finish lay-ups. With consecutive stops on defense Prin jumped out a 12-4 lead. Greenville quickly responded with their fast paced offense and made several three point shots. Just passed the 12 minute mark of the first half Greenville was able to take their first lead of the game 19-18 on a made layup. After another made three pointer for Greenville, and a missed layup by Principia,
TreVaughn Goodman jumped a pass and took it the distance for a thunderous dunk to get Principia back on track. As the first half continued the Principia Panthers began to lose their grip on the game. Greenville took advantage of multiple turnovers and turned them into buckets on the offensive end of the floor. Principia's great start to the game couldn't hold up as the trailed 64-43 going into the locker room.
The Panthers of Principia came out with energy and focus in the second half and managed to cut the lead to 15 just minutes into the half. Just when Prin had some momentum and offensive rebound followed by a three pointer stopped the mini run. Over the next few minutes Greenville caught some rhythm and opened up a 25 point lead their biggest of the game. But following a time out Principia would not go quietly as they were able to go on a 12-2 run and cut the game back down to 15. After exchanging a few buckets Principia was able to cut the lead to 13 but unfortunately would not get any closer. Greenville continued to sub 5 players in and out and ultimately ran the Panthers of Principia off. The lead got blown out of proportion late as Greenville would win 131-99.
Notable Performance:
Freshman
Clark Davidson had a career day, leading all scorers with 35 points as well as 11 rebounds. Senior
Micah Paulson also had a great game with 33 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Both players were extremely efficient from the floor.
Up Next:
Principia will be off for a few days before the head nearby Washington University of St. Louis on December 6
that 7pm.
