FULTON, MO - The Principia College Men's Basketball team won in dramatic fashion Tuesday night as junior guard
Jake Kampf hit a game-winning buzzer beater from half court to defeat Westminster College 60-57! This game was supposed to take place on January 8th, but had to be postponed until tonight due to Covid-19 protocols. After the Panthers' record-setting win at Greenville on January 4th, they had to deal with three straight postponements, so this was their first game back in two weeks.
The first half was a low-scoring, defensive battle as each team made the other shoot difficult shots. The Panthers got on the board first with a 3-pointer from
Shemarri Miles, followed by a tough lay up in the paint from
Kevin Wingert. The Blue Jays kept at it and began to break through offensively, taking a 19-11 lead with six minutes left in the half. Despite early shooting struggles, Principia fought back and answered with an impressive 10-0 run, highlighted by big 3s from
AJ Byrd and
Jake Kampf. Westminster was able to get the lead back late and took a 25-23 advantage into the break.
The shooting struggles continued for both teams in the second half, but fortunes slowly improved as each team got more comfortable on the court. The Panthers put a big focus on getting defensive rebounds in the second half in order to finish out defensive possessions and get stops.
Kevin Wingert had a strong second half as he made back to back 3-pointers with 12 minutes to go, and then made a tough bucket inside to give Principia a 48-45 lead with seven minutes left. Big man
Clark Davidson was also a huge factor for the Panthers at both ends of the court, coming down with a number of important rebounds and knocking down four clutch free throws.
With 20 seconds left and Principia down by one, the Panthers called a timeout to set up an offensive play.
AJ Byrd drove to the hoop and was fouled on a layup, sending him to the line for two huge free throws with 11 seconds to go. After missing the first, he stepped up in the clutch and made the second to tie the game at 57 all. The Blue Jays then came down the court to try and win the game on their last offensive possession, but missed a contested 3-pointer off the rim. The ball serendipitously bounced right to
Jake Kampf, who made the important rebound with three seconds on the clock. Three dribbles later at half court, he sent up a high heave over a defender as the buzzer sounded. As everyone in the gym watched with frozen anticipation, the ball rattled in to send the Panthers into a frenzy and give Principia a 2-0 start to conference play.
After the game, Kampf recounted his unforgettable shot: "When I got the rebound, I saw that there was three seconds left, so I knew I had two or three dribbles to get a shot up. When I let it go, I thought it might have a chance, but when it went in, I was in shock for a second and then overcome with joy that we were able to get the W."
Kampf's half-court winner and first career buzzer beater needs to be seen to be believed. Watch the incredible replay below.
Good To Know: Clark Davidson finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds, playing some tough defense throughout the game on the Blue Jays' best player. Three other players finished in double digits:
Kevin Wingert had 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals,
Shemarri Miles scored 11 points with a steal, and the hero
Jake Kampf finished with 10 points and 4 rebounds.
Up Next: The Panthers will look to stay unbeaten in conference play on Thursday night at 7:30 when they take on Spalding University at home! This is our first home game since before Christmas break, so if you are around, make sure to come and show support! If not, check out the streaming link on social media and the Men's Basketball schedule.
