Fulton, MO—The Principia Men's Basketball Team traveled to Fulton, MO to take on the Westminster College Blue Jays in their most recent SLIAC matchup. The Panthers played hard the entire game, and after a back and forth affair came out on top with a final score of 76-75.
Just like their previous two games, the Panthers opened up the scoring in what would be a back and forth affair with the Blue Jays as both teams settled into the game. Right out of the gate, Junior
TreVaughn Goodman made a slashing lay-up which was quickly followed by a lay-up from Senior
Micah Paulson, and a lay-up from Freshman
Clark Davidson. The Panther lead stretched to 6 points early, but Westminster would quickly respond with 6 quick points of their own. Two lay-ups from the Blue Jay's Romo Tabb and a jumper from Stu Hollandsworth would bring Westminster right back into the game, and the back and forth scoring between these two teams would continue. With 11 minutes left in the first half, a Kobe Wands made free throw would put Westminster up by 1 point, giving them their first lead of the game. The Panthers would not go away quietly though, and after two free throws from Goodman, the Panthers would head into halftime with a 34-33 lead.
Coming out of the break, the Panthers would continue their prolific offensive attack as
Micah Paulson would hit a tough 3-pointer which was then followed by two more free throws from Goodman, giving the Panthers a 6-point advantage just 2 minutes into the half. Freshman
Zack Matters came to play this half as he would wind up hitting some huge 3-pointers, one of which came with 16 minutes left in the half after
Micah Paulson found Matters with a beautiful pass in the corner, and Matters nailed it to give the Panthers a 5-point lead. The half would remain a back and forth scoring affair as neither team was able to gain a significant advantage until Westminster would take a 70-64 lead with 2:56 left in the game. With little time remaining, the Panthers knew that they needed to play a near perfect half to complete a comeback, and that's exactly what they did. A Davidson lay-up, and then a 3-pointer by
Micah Paulson would bring the lead down to 1 with 2:10 remaining. Westminster would respond with a 3-pointer of their own, and the lead was pushed back to 3. With 1:24 left in the game and down by 3, Junior
Brennan Paulson would nail a three-pointer from the top of the key, tying the game and giving the Panthers some hope. Westminster would come back down and hit another 3-pointer, but
TreVaughn Goodman would race down the court and get a quick lay-up to pull the Panthers within 1 with 36 seconds left. After a defensive stop, Goodman would once again weave his way through the Blue Jay defense and finish a lay-up with 4.7 seconds left, that would wind up being the game winning basket for the Panthers, giving them the 76-75 victory.
Good To Know
Micah Paulson had another monster game tonight with 27 points and five rebounds, and
TreVaughn Goodman had a huge double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Principia's starting freshman also came to play today as they both finish with double digit scoring, Davidson with 14 and Matters with 11.
Up Next
The Panthers will play at home against Webster University on Tuesday for senior night. Come out and support both
Micah Paulson and
Evan Eisenauer at 7:30 pm! Senior Day ceremonies will be between the women's and men's games.
