ELSAH, IL – The Principia Men's Basketball team put their undefeated home record to the test on Saturday against a tough opponent in the Loras College Duhawks. After a hot start from Principia, Loras battled back to take a two point advantage into halftime. In the second half, Principia came back from down 12 with 8:22 to go to win 77-76 as
Jake Kampf calmly hit two game-winning free throws with 0.2 seconds to go.
Principia came out on fire led by point guard
Shemarri Miles scoring and distributing extremely well.
Jake Kampf also started off the game hot, sinking 4 three pointers to give Principia an early 12 point lead. A Loras timeout led to some changes in strategy, as they jumped into a full court press to disrupt the Panthers' rhythm. The Duhawks' offense started to click, and some turnovers by Principia got the Duhawks right back in the game. A Panthers' turnover led to a three pointer at the halftime buzzer to give Loras their first lead of the game as they headed into the locker room up 44-42.
After Principia scored the first four points out of the halftime break, Loras immediately seized control of the game. A layup with 12:15 left pushed the Loras lead to 10 points. A run by Principia was countered by another run by Loras, who hit a three with 8:22 left to extend their lead to 12. Principia would not back down and battled back from there. Back-to-back three pointers from Kampf cut the lead to six. A Miles layup, followed by another Kampf three got the lead down to one with 2:23 remaining.
With 1:19 remaining,
Nathan Brantingham stepped to the line and hit two clutch free throws to give the Panthers their first lead of the half. A layup by Loras with 13 seconds left gave Loras a one point lead. With no timeouts remaining, the Panthers pushed the ball down the court. Miles found Kampf, who spun his way into the lane and was fouled on the arm with just 0.2 seconds remaining. Kampf, the hero of the night, cooly stepped to the line and knocked down both free throws to give Principia the 77-76 victory.
WATCH KAMPF WIN THE GAME
Good to Know: Jake Kampf played an unbelievable game with career highs of 31 points and 9 three pointers. He is currently shooting 51.4% from the 3 point line and 94.7% from the free throw line.
Shemarri Miles also played extraordinarily and had a double-double for the Panthers with 12 points and a career high 10 assists.
Nathan Brantingham and
Jaquan Adams chipped in with 12 and 11 points respectively.
Up Next: Principia continues their home stand with a game against Knox College at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, November 22nd. This will be the last game for the Panthers before Thanksgiving Break. Come out and support your Panthers!
