JACKSONVILLE, IL – After starting the season 2-0, the Principia Men's Basketball team headed to Illinois College on Tuesday evening for their first road game of the season. The IC Blue Boys may have come into the game 1-1, but this was a significant step up in competition for the Panthers.
After an even first ten minutes, Illinois College took control of the game and went into the half up 13. After a run by Principia to cut the lead to three, the Blue Boys made a run of their own and never looked back as they defeated Principia by a final of 80-54.
A back and forth opening six minutes was capped by a
Clark Davidson layup, giving Principia the early 11-9 lead. This would be Principia's last lead of the first half as Illinois College dominated the rebounds and the scoreboard. At the 3:31 point of the first half, Illinois College took a 21 point lead and looked on their way to an easy victory. The Panthers decided to fight back, and
Kevin Wingert and
Jaquan Adams led a mini run to get the lead down to 13 at the half.
Principia came out of halftime with renewed energy and began slowly trimming the lead. A 3-pointer by
Shemarri Miles cut the lead to six with 14:12 left in the half. A
Kevin Wingert 3-pointer with 11:22 to go cut the lead to three, but that would be the closest the Panthers would get the rest of the night. After a cold streak to start the half, Illinois College found their rhythm and never looked back. In the final 11:22, the Blue Boys outscored the Panthers 31-8 for a comfortable 26-point victory.
Good to Know: Jake Kampf and
Shemarri Miles scored double figures for the Panthers with 11 and 10 respectively.
Kevin Wingert played a great second half and almost had a double double with 9 points and 12 rebounds.
Up Next: Principia returns to Elsah for back-to-back home games this Friday and Saturday. On Friday at 7:00 pm, the Panthers play Mississippi University for Women, who will be joining the SLIAC conference next season. Then on Saturday at 3:00 pm, the Panthers play Loras College from the American Rivers Conference. Come out and support the Panthers this weekend and help them defend home court!
