DUBUQUE, IA – The Principia Men's Basketball team took on the Central College Dutch on Sunday in their second game of an early season tournament at Loras College. The Dutch are a strong team picked to finish first in the tough American Rivers Conference. The are led by a 6'10 All-American who proved his worth against the Panthers on the inside. Principia was able to hang with the Dutch for the majority of the game, but were unable to keep it close in the final 10 minutes, as they fell 96-77.
Early on, Principia took it to the bigger Dutch, as a 17-0 run by the Panthers gave them an early 19-4 advantage. Unfortunately for Principia, Central began to use their inside game to their advantage and were able to climb back into the game. Led by timely threes from Jordan Williams and Isaiah Parker, Principia headed into halftime tied with Central at 40.
From the beginning of the second half, the Dutch again capitalized on their height advantage and went up 12 points. Principia would battle back, and two free throws by Shemarri Miles cut the lead back to 2 points with 10:27 remaining. That would be as close as Principia would get, as they would succumb to the tough inside play of Central. The final score of 96-77 was not indicative of just how much progress the Panthers have made in 24 hours as they were far more competitive today than in their opening loss to Loras.
Good to Know: The Panthers were again led by seniors Jaquan Adams and Shemarri Miles, who had 23 and 22 points respectively. Freshmen Bobby Alford III and Jordan Williams played great in their second collegiate games, contributing 14 and 10 points themselves.
Up Next: Principia is right back at it again for their third game in three days on Tuesday night. The game is at 7:00 pm in St. Louis against UHSP – if you are in the area come support your Panthers!
