Red Devils Fall in High-Scoring Battle with Greenville

EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka men's basketball team lost a tight matchup with Greenville on Wednesday night, 119-114.

Early in the game, the Red Devils built a 10-point lead, their largest of the night, thanks to a 9-0 run, with Emaryon Byrd (Peoria, Ill./Manual) scoring 7 of those points. Greenville responded with an 18-4 run of their own to take the lead, 26-22. The teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the half, with neither side able to gain much ground. Ultimately, the Panthers took a 48-45 lead into the halftime break.

In the second half, both teams' offenses came alive, combining for 140 points. Eureka regained the lead less than 2 minutes into the second half, thanks to a layup and a free throw by Peewee Brown (Peoria, Ill./Manual), giving the Red Devils a 54-53 advantage. Byrd and Brown continued to dominate, scoring back-to-back layups to give Eureka a 7-point lead with 15:40 left to play. However, the Red Devils struggled with turnovers for a brief stretch, and it proved costly, as Greenville capitalized on 4 turnovers in under a minute, turning them into a 13-1 scoring run.

Eureka overcame this run and regained the lead with a layup by Dylan Logsdon (Meridian, Idaho/Mountain View), putting the Red Devils ahead, 79-78. Blake Logsdon (Meridian, Idaho/Mountain View) then sank two free throws, followed by a three-pointer and two free throws from Micah Bruer (Washington, Ill./Washington), which quickly pushed Eureka's lead to 8 points. However, Greenville mounted another scoring run, netting 15 of the next 19 points to reclaim the lead, 93-90, with 6:39 remaining.

Eureka briefly regained the lead, 95-93, after two free throws by Brown, but once again, the Panthers went on a run. An 11-1 surge gave Greenville an 8-point lead with 3:43 left. Less than a minute later, the Panthers extended their lead to 9 points, their largest of the night. The Red Devils refused to go down without a fight, cutting the lead to a single possession with just 2 seconds remaining. After being forced to intentionally foul, Greenville converted both free throws to effectively seal the game, handing Eureka a 119-114 defeat.

GAME NOTES

• Peewee Brown set a new season-high with 38 points. He also recorded 7 rebounds and finished the night 16-19 from the free throw line.
• Emaryon Byrd also recorded a season-high with 30 points. His 13 rebounds marked his fourth consecutive double-double and fifth of the season.

UP NEXT

The Red Devils (2-5, 1-1) will take on Principia (1-5, 0-1) on Saturday, Dec. 7, at home. The game is set to tip off at 3:00 p.m.