Provost Drills Game-Winner as Eureka Tops Blackburn

EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka men's basketball team opened SLIAC play with a thrilling 80-77 victory over Blackburn on Tuesday night, highlighted by a career-high 32 points from Jaxson Provost (Kankakee, Ill./Bishop McNamara), who hit the game-winning three-pointer in the closing seconds.

Provost got off to a hot start, scoring Eureka's first 10 points to give the Red Devils an early 10-6 lead. After a three-pointer from Blackburn, Provost assisted Micah Bruer (Washington, Ill./Washington Community) on a three to push Eureka's lead to 13-9. The teams traded baskets over the next several minutes, with Jacob Gonzalez (Los Angeles, Calif./Chatsworth Charter) sinking a free throw to give Eureka a 23-22 edge heading into the first half's under 8-minute media timeout.

Blackburn responded with a 7-1 run to take a 29-25 lead, but Eureka answered as Ben Carter (Morton, Ill./Morton) scored five straight points to reclaim a 32-31 advantage. After an Andrew Coker (Washington, Ill./Washington Community) layup, Blackburn tied the game at 34, but Eureka went on a 6-0 run, with Carter adding four points, to take a 40-34 lead. Blackburn scored the final four points of the half, sending Eureka into the break with a narrow 40-38 advantage.

Eureka came out of halftime strong, as layups from Max Richardson (LaHarpe, Ill./Illini West) and Provost extended the lead to 44-38. Blackburn cut it to 48-44, but Provost scored five straight points to give Eureka a 53-44 advantage, its largest lead of the night. The Red Devils held the lead for most of the second half, but Blackburn went on a 7-0 run with under seven minutes remaining to take a 67-66 lead, their first since 31-30.

A pair of free throws by Richardson briefly put Eureka back in front at 68-67, but Blackburn retook the lead at 69-68. Coker sank a free throw to tie the game at 69-69 before Blackburn scored three points to take a 72-69 lead with under four minutes left. Coker then scored six consecutive points, including a three-point play, to give Eureka a 75-74 lead. Provost extended Eureka's lead to 77-74 with two free throws. On Blackburn's next possession, they made both free throws to cut the lead to 77-76, then got back to the line with 16 seconds remaining. The first free throw tied the game at 77-77, but the second attempt rattled out, and Carter secured the rebound for Eureka. With the clock winding down, Carter advanced the ball and found Coker, who drew multiple defenders before dishing to a wide-open Provost in the corner. Provost drilled the corner three to give Eureka the lead, and Blackburn's final attempt rimmed out at the buzzer.

Provost led all scorers with a career-high 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting, adding five assists and two steals. Coker recorded his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Ben Carter added a season-high 11 points and nine rebounds. Max Richardson contributed nine points and three assists, while Micah Bruer chipped in six points and six assists.

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Eureka returns home to host Rockford in a nonconference matchup on Saturday at 3 p.m.