WEBSTER GROVES, MO – The Principia Men's Basketball team took their 4-1 SLIAC record down to Webster University to face the Gorloks and their conference leading 5-0 record. This was the SLIAC Game of the Week, and it certainly lived up to the billing. A close first half had Principia up 24-23 before a Webster run to end the half gave the Gorloks the 34-29 lead going into the break. An early run by Webster extended their lead to 14 before Principia clawed all the way back to tie the game with 23 seconds remaining. A Webster layup with 2.8 seconds remaining sealed the Panthers fate as they fell 65-63.
An early jump shot by
Clark Davidson gave Principia a 2-0 lead, but Webster would come right back to take the lead 6-2. Webster maintained a lead ranging from 2 to 7 for a large stretch until a Panthers' run – finalized by a
Marco Powells 3-pointer – gave Principia a 24-23 lead with 5:27 left in the half. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Gorloks would go on an 11-5 run to end the half, punctuated by a buzzer-beating tip in by Javane Nugent to give Webster the 34-29 halftime lead.
The Webster lead quickly ballooned out to 14 with 16:47 left in the game on back-to-back three pointers by Josh Luster. From there, Principia would get right back into the game. A layup by
Nathan Brantingham and a steal and dunk by
Payton Sellers cut the lead to 10. A run by
Jake Kampf, including a 3-pointer with 10:48 remaining got the lead down to 3 at 52-49. A three by
Shemarri Miles cut the lead to 1 with 8:44 left, but Webster would extend the lead back to 7 with 5:22 left.
A layup and then a three pointer by
Jaquan Adams put the Panthers only down by 2 with 37 seconds remaining. Principia's pressure defense would force a turnover and a
Shemarri Miles jumper would tie the game at 63 with 23 seconds left. Webster would run the clock, and eventually, Wynne Brown Jr. would sneak past the defense and score a layup with 2.8 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Principia would be unable to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded and fell to the Gorloks, 65-63.
Good to Know: Principia was led again by
Jaquan Adams, who had 17 points.
Jake Kampf had 14, including 11 in the second half to get the Panthers back into the game. Principia now is 4-2 in SLIAC play and will conclude the first round of SLIAC games in their upcoming matchup against the Eureka Red Devils.
Up Next: Principia plays Eureka College at home on Tuesday, January 24th at 7:30 PM. This is a huge conference game against the team right behind the Panthers in the standings. It should be a great game to watch, so come out to Hay Field House and support the Panthers in their first game of the second semester!
