LINCOLN, NE - This weekend, the Principia Men's Basketball team took to the road for a trip to Nebraska to play Nebraska Wesleyan University. The team was coming off a tough loss at home against Grinnell and were looking to gain some momentum going into break. Even with team captains
Clark Davidson and
Shemarri Miles out, the Panthers were ready for the challenge.
The game started out with Nebraska Wesleyan knocking down the first few shots of the game, as they moved the ball well on offense and were able to get a couple of easy buckets to take an early lead. Principia was able to get good shots on offense, trying to stay patient, but the length and pressure from the Prairie Wolves made it tough to knock down shots. The Panthers went down big early as they struggled to get stops on defense and to score offensively. With about 12 minutes left in the half, they were down by 15 points and had only scored 5 points. Late in the half, the Panthers started to make a bit of an offensive run after a couple finishes inside from
Nathan Brantingham and some three pointers from
Kevin Wingert. However, Nebraska Wesleyan continued to shoot well, which made it tough for Principia to close the scoring gap. The Panthers went into the break down 54-30.
Principia had a great start to the second half, as a few three pointers from
Jake Kampf and
AJ Byrd tried to spark the team offensively. They brought an urgency to the defensive end of the court that they were lacking in the first half, but this ended up getting the Panthers in foul trouble early in the second half. Unfortunately, the defensive struggles continued throughout the remainder of the game. The Prairie Wolves were very disciplined and patient offensively, which made it hard for Principia to get stops and finish off possessions. Even when the Panthers scored, Nebraska Wesleyan would come back down and match them at the other end. The Panthers never gave up and continued to try and learn from the game in order to improve for the rest of the season. Offensively,
Nathan Brantingham was very solid for Principia all game, shooting 80% from the field and finishing with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Many of his buckets came on assists from
Jake Kampf who finished with 6 assists and 5 points. Although the Panthers came up short with the loss 100-64, the team felt encouraged knowing they were missing a couple of major players.
Good To Know: Nathan Brantingham finished the game with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals, while
AJ Byrd finished with 16 points and 6 rebounds himself.
Jake Kampf distributed the ball well on offensive and finished with 5 points of his own along with 6 assists. Finally,
Kevin Wingert had 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals.
Up Next: After Christmas break, the Panthers will be playing an exhibition at Maryville University in St. Louis. If you can make it, come and support the team, and if not, check the website for the streaming link. Merry Christmas from your Principia College Men's Basketball Team!
