Red Devils Unable to Hold On Against Principia

EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka men's basketball team led for much of the game against Principia but could not hold on, falling 66-61 to the Panthers on Saturday afternoon.

After a 5-5 start, the Red Devils mounted a 9-0 scoring run to take a sizable early lead. With just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half, Peewee Brown (Peoria, Ill./Manual) stole the ball and converted a transition layup to give Eureka a 12-point lead, their largest of the night. Principia continued to battle, but the Red Devils took a 32-25 lead into halftime.

Early in the second half, Principia cut the lead to a single possession, but Raymond Bandzoumouna Jr. (Lisle, Ill./Lisle) responded with a three-pointer to extend the lead back to 6 points. However, Principia answered with an 8-1 run to take the lead for the first time since the opening 2 minutes of the game. Over the next 3 minutes, the teams exchanged baskets, resulting in a 56-56 tie with 4 minutes left to play.

Principia then mounted another 8-1 run over the next 2 minutes, giving them their largest lead of the night at 7 points with 2:04 remaining. Eureka drew a foul and got to the free-throw line with 1:19 left, where Dylan Logsdon (Meridian, Idaho/Mountain View) knocked down both attempts to cut the deficit to 5 points. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Red Devils would get, as the Panthers held on for a 66-61 victory.

GAME NOTES

• Emaryon Byrd (Peoria, Ill./Manual) led all scorers with 20 points and also grabbed 17 rebounds, recording his fifth consecutive double-double and sixth of the season. He also led the Red Devils with 6 steals.
• Peewee Brown recorded 14 points and 3 assists for Eureka.
• Raymond Bandzoumouna Jr. and Micah Bruer (Washington, Ill./Washington Community) each scored 9 points for the Red Devils.

UP NEXT

The Red Devils (2-6, 1-2) will have over a week to regroup before traveling to take on SIU Edwardsville (5-4, 0-0) on Sunday, Dec. 15. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.