Elsah, IL – The Principia men's basketball team kicked off their 2019 SLIAC season with a home opener against the MacMurray College Highlanders. The Panthers came out on fire on both ends of the court and used a huge first half to propel them to an 80-68 victory over the Highlanders.
The Panthers came out firing on all cylinders this game, with
Micah Paulson getting the scoring started early with a three pointer on the first play of the game. Freshman
Clark Davidson quickly followed with a jumper and a lay-up that put Principia up 7-0 early in the half. This offensive burst to start the game for the Panthers was fueled by an aggressive and tenacious defense that slowed all offensive effort from the Highlanders. After the first 12 minutes of the half, the Panther lead had grown to 13 points making the score 28-15.
For the next few minutes, the Panthers struggled on offense due to some careless turnovers and a lack of execution. However, the team never let MacMurray back into it, and after a couple of free throws from
Micah Paulson and a lay-up by
TreVaughn Goodman, the Panthers headed into halftime with a 45-28 advantage.
Coming out of halftime, the Panthers were determined to not let the Highlanders back into the game. Just as in the first half, the Panthers used stingy defense, and well executed offensive sets to keep the lead secure. At the 19:01 mark, Goodman hit a free throw to push the Panther lead up to 20 points, which became the largest lead for the Panthers all game. Over the next 5 minutes, the Highlanders were able to gain a little traction on the offensive end, and a layup by Derek Bourke pulled them within 13 points with 13:04 left to play. Finally, after both teams traded baskets for the remainder of the game, free throws from both Goodman and Davidson pushed the lead back to a solid 15 points to seal the game for the Panthers.
Good To Know
Junior
TreVaughn Goodman recorded a monster double-double tonight, notching 32 points and hauling in 11 rebounds to lead all scorers. Senior
Micah Paulson kept his hot scoring going with a 19-point effort, and Freshman
Clark Davidson finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds.
The Panthers only suited out 8 players for tonight's game against the Highlanders, but all 8 stepped on to the floor at some point in the game and contributed to the win tonight, making this a complete team effort.
Up Next
The Panthers travel to Eureka, IL this Saturday where they will play another conference game against Eureka College at 3:00 PM.
