ST. LOUIS, MO - Today, the Principia Men's Basketball team traveled to St. Louis to play the Webster University Gorloks in an important conference battle. Both teams were coming off tough losses to other conference opponents and were looking to bounce back and get in the win column today. The Panthers hoped to prove they belong at the top of the conference and hold on to the their winning record in SLIAC play.
Principia started out strong thanks to
Clark Davidson's 14 point first half as he knocked down back to back 3-pointers in the corner and finished on some tough post moves inside. The Panthers worked to push the tempo over the first ten minutes of the game, and with nine minutes left in the half, Principia had opened up a huge 16 point lead at 29-13. The Panthers were clicking on all cylinders offensively, moving the ball well around the perimeter highlighted by some great passing by point guard
Shemarri Miles who finished with a season-high 9 assists.
Webster started to turn things around late in the half as they got a few stops and their shots began to fall. Basketball can often be a game of runs with big leads disappearing in a matter of minutes as momentum shifts between teams. This game was no different as Webster went on a 12-0 run, cutting the Panthers' lead to 29-25 with four minutes to go in the half. A bucket in the paint by
Nathan Brantingham stopped the bleeding for the Panthers as they made a good push to finish the half and went into the break leading 34-29.
Principia came out strong to start the second half as
Jake Kampf hit one of his six 3-pointers to give the Panthers a nine point lead early on. The scoring went back and forth over the next ten minutes as the Panthers maintained their nine point lead with eight minutes to go. From then on, the Gorloks slowly but surely closed the gap. Webster's Rodson Etienne hit three clutch buckets late as he helped cut the Panthers' lead to two with two minutes to go. Neither team could convert over the next four possessions until Etienne scored inside with 37 seconds left to tie the game at 59.
The Panthers called timeout to set up a play to win the game, but a turnover with 11 seconds to go led to a Webster fast break. The Gorloks went back to the hot hand Etienne, but strong rim protection from Brantingham forced a double clutch and travel with four seconds remaining. Amazingly, it looked like Principia would get the chance to win on another buzzer beater.
However, after the Panthers' final timeout, a Webster player tried to sub in with a different jersey number than the one on the official game roster, resulting in a technical foul for the Gorloks and a free throw for the Panthers. This tough break for Webster gave Principia a chance to win it at the line. Tuesday's hero
Jake Kampf was sent to the line and calmly converted the important free throw for one point lead. Principia still had possession following the travel, so after
AJ Byrd was fouled quickly on the inbound, he also came through in the clutch knocking down both his free throws to secure a 62-59 lead. After a missed half court attempt by Webster at the buzzer, the Panthers celebrated the victory to stay undefeated on the road in SLIAC play with a 3-1 conference record overall.
Good To Know: What a week for
Clark Davidson and
Jake Kampf! They both led the way for the Panthers again today as Davidson had a team-high 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals, and Kampf made six triples to finish with 19 points and 3 rebounds.
Shemarri Miles also had a stong game with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 blocks.
Up Next: The Panthers return home for a Tuesday night tilt with Fontbonne University at 7:30 PM! Come out to Hay Field House and support your guys in their journey for Principia's first conference championship! If you can't make it, check out the stream on the Men's Basketball page.
