The Principia Panthers traveled to Eureka College for their 15th conference game of the season on Tuesday February 6th. The game was pretty much a must win for both teams and both teams battled until the end. The Panthers clawed and scrapped throughout the game but came up short losing 70-96 to the Red Devils.
Principia started off the game slow as they acclimated to the game. Eureka on the other hand came out hot hitting several 3 pointers right at the start of the game. The Panthers found themselves in a 9-0 hole before
Jeff Ross got them going with a corner 3 pointer. The Panthers were able to lock in on defense and go on a 13-3 run over a 5 minute stretch and tie the game at 18 all. Eureka was able to swing the game back in their favor with a run of their own. The Panthers hit a stretch for several minutes where despite their aggressive play could not get a bucket. This slump on offense allowed Eureka to build a lead over the last minutes before half. A long three point bomb just before half gave the Red Devils a 46-31 lead heading into the locker room.
In the second half the Panthers went down by 24 points but would not be phased by anything as they continued to battle. The game was played at a fairly even clip as both teams exchanged offensive blows on either end of the court. Eureka was able to hold their lead steady for the majority of the second half until Principia made a run. As the Panthers began to get stops defensively they caught fire from three.
Payton Sellers was able to come into the game and hit two three pointers followed by a 3 point swish by
Parker Davidson. In a five minute span they were able to cut 13 points off the Eureka lead. Unfortunately this would be the closest Principia would get. Down the stretch the Panthers began to run out of steam and Eureka was able to pull away ultimately winning 96-70.
He said it
"We all wanted a different result tonight, but we cannot change how the game went, all we can do is move forward. From here on out we are going to focus back on the reason we play basketball: the fact that we love the game. We will take life lessons from these tough experiences and enjoy the journey, even if it's not to the place we expected."
Senior-
Jeff Ross
Up Next
Principia returns home to Elsah for a battle of the Panthers in a high scoring matchup with Greenville University on Saturday February 10th at 3pm.
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