EUREKA, IL - The Principia Panthers opened up the SLIAC Men's Basketball Tournament on the road tonight playing against the two seed, the Eureka Red Devils. This was the third time these teams matched up against each other in the last eight days. Coming into this game with a six game losing streak, the Panthers knew they were gonna have to make some big changes in order to play well enough to start rolling during the tournament. Unfortunately, they were unable to get it done and their season came to an end as the Red Devils took care of business, 72-63.
Principia came out on top of their game and got some good offensive possessions as they went back and forth with Eureka early. The Panthers played good defense and pushed the Red Devils into some tough shots, but with a few transition buckets off turnovers, Eureka was eventually able to capitalize on their lead. With about five minutes left in the half, the Red Devils started to go on a run, and the Panthers fought to weather the storm.
Clark Davidson was able to get a good feel inside and started knocking down some big shots to keep the Panthers alive. Principia kept themselves in the game and were able to score a few buckets before the end of the half, but were set up with a 10 point deficit going into the second half.
After the break, things started out rough for the Panthers as they let a few defensive stops go without scoring on the other end. Eureka was able to extend their lead early to 18 points, and the Panthers would once again have to dig themselves out of a hole. However, Principia would not give up, and they fought to slow Eureka's scoring and gradually chip away at the lead. After consecutive stops for the Panthers late in the game, they were able to convert on big offensive possessions behind some tough finishes inside from
Jake Kampf. After a clutch three followed by two made free throws from
AJ Byrd with just over a minute to go, the Red Devils' lead was down to only five points. Unfortunately, the late surge was not enough for the Panthers as Eureka closed out the win with some final defensive stops.
Good To Know: Clark Davidson led the Panthers with another double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Shemarri Miles scored 13 points and pulled down 5 boards, while
Jake Kampf finished with 12 points and 5 assists.
