ELSAH, IL – The Panthers' Men's Basketball team sure does like to make it exciting. After a last second victory on Saturday against Loras College, Principia topped themselves with another amazing finish to top Knox College 84-83.
Principia trailed by 14 after a sluggish first half, and the lead for Knox bloomed to 21 with just over 15 minutes left. From there, Principia chipped into the lead and started to find their footing in the game. Trailing by two points with 15 seconds left,
Shemarri Miles was able to draw two defenders and kick the ball out to
Clark Davidson, who drained a three pointer with 5.8 seconds left in the game. A stop on the ensuing end gave Principia the incredible one point victory.
Principia was able to score the first bucket of the game on a hook shot by
Clark Davidson. This 2-0 lead would be the only lead of the night for the Panthers until the very end of the game. The Prairie Fire were dicing up Principia on the offensive end, shooting 55.6% from the field in the first half. The Panthers were also unable to get much rhythm in the first half on offense as they only shot 32.3% from the field.
Kevin Wingert was a bright spot for the Panthers off the bench with 11 points in the first half. Principia went into the break trailing 46-32.
The second half started similarly to the first half, as Knox again had the upper hand on the Panthers. A three pointer with 15:40 left gave Knox their biggest lead at 21 points. Principia never went on a huge unanswered run, but slowly chipped away at the lead from there. A layup plus the foul by
Marco Powells cut the lead to 14 with 12:39 left. A three pointer by
Shemarri Miles cut the lead to six with 8:50 remaining. Knox stretched the lead back to ten with 5:39 left, but Principia would not quit. A layup by
Jaquan Adams cut the lead down to four with 4:24 remaining. After two missed free throws by Adams with 1:05 remaining, the Prairie Fire had the ball and a 82-78 lead. A huge steal and three by
Kevin Wingert with 35 seconds left cut the lead to just one at 82-81.
After a quick timeout from the Panthers, Principia fouled with 15 seconds left. Knox would split the free throws to lead 83-81.
Shemarri Miles then found a wide open
Clark Davidson on the right wing, and Davidson cashed the three pointer with 5.8 seconds left to give the Panthers their first lead since the first minute of the game. Knox called a timeout and drew up a play, but their shot came up just short, and Principia escaped with a 84-83 win.
WATCH CLARK'S GAME WINNING SHOT
Good to Know: The Panthers had five players in double figures tonight. They were led by
Kevin Wingert with 18 huge points off the bench.
Clark Davidson, who hit the game winning three, had 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Jake Kampf scored 16 on another 4 threes, while
Jaquan Adams and
Shemarri Miles chipped in. 14 and 12 points respectively. Principia is now 5-1 on the season, including 5-0 at home!
Up Next: The Panthers are off this weekend for Thanksgiving break. They will resume play next Tuesday, November 29th at home against Maranatha Baptist. This is the Panthers last non-conference home game and starts at 6:00 pm. If you are in the area, come out and cheer on the Panthers or tune into the live stream if you can't attend!
