ELSAH, IL – The Principia College men's basketball team claimed a decisive, season-opening 82-66 victory over Maranatha Baptist University on Saturday in front of a packed crowd in Hay Field House.
The Panthers got off to a slow start as the Sabercats built a 10-2 lead early on, but Principia showed resilience and tied the game at 12 midway through the first half. The scoring went back-and-forth until a 10-0 run by Principia in the final two minutes – highlighted by 6 points and multiple steals by sophomore
Nolan Simon – gave the Panthers a 39-26 lead at halftime.
Principia extended their lead in the second half with increased shooting accuracy. Maranatha cut the lead down to 7 early on in the half, but the Panthers would hold a double-digit lead over the final 14:23 of the game. Senior
Isaiah Parker hit a flurry of 3 three-pointers down the stretch to help ice the game as Principia would ultimately win by 16 points.
Principia's balanced scoring shone through as all ten players who saw the floor scored at least 3 points. The Panthers were led by newcomer
Nolan Simon's strong debut of 17 points and 5 steals, as well as
Isaiah Parker's Principia career-best 16 points. A big key to the Panthers success was out-rebounding the Sabercats 35 to 21.
Charley Hoffman's 9 points and 9 boards plus
Eaton Smith's efficient 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting further bolstered Principia's frontcourt dominance.
The Panthers will look to build on this promising start as they have a quick turnaround with another home game on Monday night. Come support the team's quest to improve to 2-0 when they host UHSP at 7:00 pm in Hay!
