ELSAH, IL – The Principia Men's Basketball team welcomed the Blackburn College Beavers to Hay Field House on Saturday afternoon for a huge SLIAC matchup. Principia was coming into the game with two consecutive SLIAC wins and a 2-1 record, while Blackburn was coming in after a loss at home and a record of 1-2. Although it is still early in the conference season, this was an important game as Principia is looking to make strides and compete for the SLIAC Championship, and Blackburn is the two-time defending SLIAC Tournament Champions.
Jaquan Adams' big double double paced the Panthers to a 21-point victory to move Principia to 3-1 in conference play.
As the game began, Blackburn was the early aggressor. A couple of open three pointers and layups, coupled with tough defense, allowed the Beavers to take the 10-3 lead. After a Principia time out, they were able to settle down and begin to execute. A 3-pointer by
Kevin Wingert got the Panthers tied at 15 all, and a
Marco Powells layup gave Principia a 17-15 lead that they would not relinquish. With four minutes left, a 3-pointer by
Shemarri Miles followed by a deep 3-pointer by
Jake Kampf pushed the lead all the way to 16 at 33-17. Principia closed the half with a layup plus the foul by
Jaquan Adams with two seconds left to give the Panthers a 38-22 lead at the break.
A 3-pointer by
Clark Davidson started the second half strong for Principia, pushing the lead to 19 points. From there, Blackburn would cut the lead to 14 with just over 11 minutes left on a breakaway dunk. The Panthers would dominate the rest of the way, and a layup by Kampf with 4:13 remaining pushed the lead all the way to 27. Principia would finish the game by using the clock and coasting to a 74-53 victory over Blackburn.
Good to Know: Jaquan Adams led the Panthers with a dominant 26 points and 12 rebounds off the bench! His energy brought up the entire team when he checked into the game. Other guys in double figures included
Shemarri Miles with 12 points and
Jake Kampf with 11 points. Principia only had 10 turnovers, out-rebounded Blackburn by 8, and had 39 points off of the bench. They are now 11-4 on the season and a perfect 8-0 at Hay Field House.
Up Next: Principia will be heading to Louisville, KY to face Spalding University on Tuesday, January 17 at 6:30 pm CT (7:30 pm ET). Tune in to the live stream to support your Panthers!
