ELSAH, IL - Tonight the Panthers played against Concordia Seminary of St. Louis in their first contest of the week. Principia came in at 3-3 and was looking to move their record above .500 for the first time this season. They were able to do just that with a 91-44 victory over the Preachers of Concordia Seminary.
Principia came out to a solid start, as they were able to get whatever they wanted offensively.
Clark Davidson got the Panthers started off on the right foot, as he was able to convert some post ups into points for the Panthers. When the focus shifted to Davidson, the driving lanes opened up for Principia, leading to a 3 pointer from
Riley Speidel and a big finish in the paint from
Charley Hoffman. Defensively, the Panthers stayed active and continued to try to rebound and push the ball in transition. This allowed them to get out to an early lead, and to maintain it, which let the Panthers get some of their reserves in the game early to contribute. At halftime, Principia wanted to make sure they were focused on improving their fundamentals on defense as well as offense.
The second half started with the Panthers on offense, and they were able to move the ball around on offense and get a great 3 point shot from
AJ Byrd at the top of the key. The following possession stemmed from a steal from
Clark Davidson, and led to a transition dunk for Byrd, extending the lead even more. On offense, the Panthers would work through their plays and try to get into the paint to create gaps and driving lanes. This opened some post up opportunities for Senior
Daniel Hoffman who was able to get a quick 8 points off the bench on some good finishes. The guard play for Principia continued to shine through on the defensive end with some steals from
Shemarri Miles leading to a couple transition buckets for
Jake Erickson and Lincoln Kent-Schneider. The Panthers made sure to get the ball out in transition to try and create some advantages for kick out and drop off passes for their bench players. To finish the game, a huge block on the defensive end from Erickson sealed the deal, while
Mar'Quidric Cerda hit a smooth step back three to score the last bucket for the Panthers.
Good To Know: Every player on the team that dressed today was able to enter the scoring column.
AJ Byrd finished the game with a team-high 22 points and 7 rebounds.
Clark Davidson shot a perfect 5-5 from the floor, finishing with 11 points while grabbing 6 rebounds.
Next Up: The Panthers will face Grinnell College on Saturday afternoon at 1 PM here at Hay Field House. It will be a fast paced and exciting game, so come and support the team this weekend!
