For Immediate Release

eureka, illinois

Boxscore attached

Quick LCC start foils McComb's 23, Red Devils

LINCOLN, Ill. — Matt McComb (Fairview, Ill./Spoon River Valley) scored a season-high 23 points, though Eureka College fell in non-conference action to Lincoln Christian College, 93-76.  The Red Devils scored a season-high for a regulation game, but could not overcome a determined Lincoln Christian squad on the road.

Eureka (5-12) took its only lead on the night by scoring the opening two points of the game.  Then, the Preachers (6-13) raced out to a commanding 30-10 advantage on the strength of five made three-pointers.

Lincoln Christian relatively cooled off over the final seven minutes of the period, allowing EC to slice into the deficit.  The Red Devils went just 1-for-8 behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes, but Brady Wildenradt's (Delavan, Ill./HS) triple capped a 12-4 rally that got Eureka within 12.  That would be the halftime margin as well, with Lincoln Christian leading 42-30.

McComb went on to score 17 points after intermission, but the Preachers made 53 percent of their second half field goal attempts to keep the Red Devils at arm's length.

Eureka stayed within striking distance in the early stages of the second half, and threatened to do much more than that as McComb drained back-to-back treys during an 8-1 run that cut the margin to single digits at 47-38.

But it soon became clear the Red Devils picked the wrong night to play Lincoln Christian as the Preachers sank four more treys during an 18-6 flurry that made the score 70-48 at the 11:16 mark.  The final margin of 17 would be as close as EC could get the rest of the way.

McComb made five out of six three-point attempts as Eureka shot 8-for-15 from long range after halftime.  Mark Darnall (Lake Mills, Wis./HS) added 17 points on 8-of-13 from the floor.  Michael Zasada (McHenry, Ill./HS) and Wildenradt had nine points apiece.  Zasada led EC with nine boards.

Jon Wallace had 20 points and 12 caroms to lead the Preachers, who led 47-32 on the boards and gave away just nine turnovers. Lincoln Christian shot 46 percent (33-for-72) overall and 41 percent (11-for-27) from long range.

Eureka steps back into SLIAC play Saturday, Feb. 2 for a pivotal match up with Maryville University.  The
tip-off is set for 1:00 pm.  The Saints slipped past EC 73-69 in the first meeting this season on January 5.

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For More Information Contact:

Bryan Moore
Sports Information Director
Eureka College
300 E. College Avenue
Eureka, Illinois 61530
309-467-6456
bmoore@eureka.edu