Eureka, IL – The Principia men's basketball team traveled to Eureka to take on the Eureka College Red Devils in their second SLIAC matchup of the new year. The Panthers started off the game strong on both ends of the court, but a slow start to the second half would prove to be too much for the Panthers as they would fall to the Red Devils 87-71.
Just like in their previous game, the Panthers came out of the gate strong with a scoring run that put the Eureka defense on their heels. Seven quick points from Freshman
Clark Davidson got the scoring started for the Panthers, followed by a lay-up from
TreVaughn Goodman and a 3-pointer from
Brennan Paulson pushed the Panther lead to 12-7 with 15:00 minutes left in the first half. The teams would trade baskets for the next few minutes until the Panthers started executing their offensive sets with a purpose, and after a 3-pointer from
Micah Paulson, the Panthers would take a 20-7 lead, their largest of the game.
The last 10 minutes of the half would mainly belong to Eureka as they started to hit their stride on the offensive side of the ball and capitalized on some defensive miscues made by the Panthers. Even after the rocky end to the half, the Panthers would still head into the locker room at halftime up by one point with the score being 39-38.
Coming out of halftime, the Panthers wanted to execute their offensive sets just as they had done at the beginning of the first half, but high tempo defense from the Red Devils and some costly turnovers would see their lead quickly diminish. With 19:41 left to go in the second half, Dakota Bennington would hit a jumper that would put the Red Devils up by 1, and they would not relinquish the lead again. Throughout the second half, the Panthers would struggle to find their offensive footing as turnovers and defensive miscues started to pile up.
Throughout the half however, the Panthers would prove themselves to be a gritty team with a no quit attitude as they would string together baskets to make multiple runs to get themselves back into the game. With 12:46 left in the second half, a lay-up by Goodman would cut the Eureka lead down to 10, but that would be the closest the Panthers would get for the remainder of the half. The team would continue to show fight throughout but would eventually fall to the Red Devils 87-71.
Good To Know
Junior
Brennan Paulson notched his first double-double of the season with a strong 16-point, 10 rebound showing, and Freshman
Clark Davidson added another double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Senior
Micah Paulson led the team with an impressive 23 points that would lead all scorers.
Up Next
The Panthers will be at home for their next conference matchup against Westminster College on Tuesday. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm.
