ST. LOUIS, MO - Today, the Principia Men's Basketball team got back on the floor after a quick Christmas break. This was the Panthers last game before SLIAC play begins, and they were looking to find their legs after the holidays. Although just an exhibition game, it was a great opportunity to get back on the court and prepare for their matchup next week against Greenville University. The Panthers are hoping to start off their conference season strong and give themselves a chance at the conference tournament this season.
The Saints came out to a strong start offensively, as they earned some tough buckets in the paint early. The Panthers got on the board with a mid range pull up from
AJ Byrd, and after battling back and forth with Maryville in the early minutes of the half, the Panthers took a lead on
Jake Kampf's third three in a row, putting the Panthers up 17-14. The Saints would then respond with a couple of 3 pointers of their own to stop the run for the Panthers. Principia would continue to fight to tighten up their defense and limit their mistakes. For the remainder of the half, it was a battle. The Panthers fought back after some transition points from
Kevin Wingert and some big buckets inside from
Clark Davidson. Principia went into the half only down by 6 and had put together an impressive half against their Division II opponent.
Unfortunately, the second half was a different story. Principia struggled to hold the line defensively as the Saints came out hot. They were able to get great shots on the Panthers, and were able to stretch out the lead. After the first three minutes of the half, Principia finally got on the board with another 3 from
Jake Kampf. Throughout the rest of the game, Principia was out of sorts offensively, forcing a lot of shots and having unnecessary turnovers. The Panthers struggled to get anything going on offense, scoring only 18 points in the second half. They eventually succumbed by a score of 91-57.
Good To Know: Clark Davidson battled all game to finish with 19 points and 8 rebounds.
Jake Kampf finished with 17 points, shooting 5 for 9 from beyond the arc.
Kevin Wingert added 11 points himself while also grabbing 6 rebounds and having 3 assists.
Next Up: The Panthers start conference play on Tuesday, January 4th at 7:30 PM at Greenville University. Make sure to support your Panthers and come to the game or find the link to our stream in the Men's Basketball website!
