GREENVILLE, IL - Tonight, the Principia Men's Basketball Team opened SLIAC conference play with an away game against the Greenville University Panthers. The play style for a game against Greenville is fast paced and high scoring, and today's game certainly fit the bill.
Principia started out the game with a few turnovers, but were able to weather the storm and get some buckets inside from post,
Nathan Brantingham. Throughout the game, Principia was forced into turnovers by the Greenville pressure. With such a fast paced game, not many fouls will be called, and it is essential to keep the game simple. For most of the half, Principia executed their plan very well and surged ahead. The biggest lead for Principia was 18 points with about 2 minutes left in the first half. However, that lead quickly started to fade away after a few missed shots inside and careless turnovers. Going into the half, Principia had a 12 point lead, but had to play better to secure the win.
Coming into the second half, Coach Zimmerman wanted the Panthers to focus on limiting the turnovers and finish more defensive possessions with strong rebounds. For most of the second half, Principia was able to execute this plan very well. They continued to break the press and get great shots at the rim. Principia built a 16 point lead with about 7 minutes left on a tough lay up from
Kevin Wingert. From there, Greenville was able to make their run. In the last 6 minutes, the Panthers turned the ball over 8 times, which led to 3 pointers for Greenville. Thankfully, Principia was able to draw a couple of fouls and both Wingert and Brantingham knocked down their free throws to help maintain the lead for the Panthers and finish the game with a big 128-119 victory. Principia is now 1-0 in conference play and will hope to ride this momentum into their next game!
Good To Know: Nathan Brantingham tied Buz Brewster's Principia single-game scoring record from 1968 of 49 points on an astounding 23/25 shooting. Brewster's record was back when Principia competed in the NAIA, so Brantingham broke the school's NCAA era record.
Kevin Wingert's 15 assists are also a Principia NCAA single-game record. Wingert added 14 points, making him one of three Panthers with a double-double, joining
Clark Davidson (10 points and 15 rebounds) and
AJ Byrd (22 points and 10 assists). Byrd also tallied an impressive six steals. Two other Panthers finished in double figures -
Jake Kampf with 17 points and
Payton Sellers with 14 points.
Up Next: The Panthers play on the road again this Saturday against Westminster College at 5 pm! We would love any support if you are in the area, and if not, tune into the live stream on the Men's Basketball schedule.
