EUREKA, IL – The last time the Principia men's basketball team won a game at Eureka College, it was current associate head coach
Todd Zimmerman's senior season of 2010-2011 when the Panthers defeated the Red Devils 90-87 in late November. Fast forward 14 years, and Principia was still looking to break a 13-game losing streak in Eureka's gym, including two OT losses in the last three years. The Panthers finally exorcised their demons on Saturday with their strongest performance of the young season to erase a 7-point halftime deficit and secure a long-awaited 66-61 victory in Bollwinkle Arena.
The Panthers trailed the majority of the first half but kept the Red Devils within striking distance. Principia went on a 7-0 run punctuated by an
Isaiah Parker three-pointer with 12 minutes remaining to take their first lead of the second half, only for Eureka to go on their own 7-0 run and go back up by six. Undeterred, the Panthers hit back-to-back threes by
Demetrius Torrence and
Kingsley Cockburn to tie the game with 7:33 to go.
The two teams would go back-and-forth trading buckets with eight lead changes over the next four minutes before another big three by Torrence put Principia up for good. Eureka made a desperate comeback bid down by seven in the final minute, but they made only one of their six shots, and the Panthers celebrated their first conference win of the season.
Bobby Alford III led the Panthers with 15 points and 7 rebounds, while
Eaton Smith and
Demetrius Torrence also finished in double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Five other Panthers finished on the scoresheet in a full team victory.
Principia's conference schedule will pick back up in early January, but the Panthers will play two more non-conference games before Christmas break when they head down to Webster University next weekend for the Gorlok Classic. They will take on Monmouth College at 6:00 pm on Friday, followed by Central Christian College of the Bible on Saturday at 1:00 pm.
