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For Immediate Releaseeureka, illinois
Short-handed Red Devils get defensive stay with Jays
EUREKA — Westminster College took a 58-52 decision from the Red Devils Saturday afternoon in a game that took a back seat after a horrific spill taken by Eureka College senior Matt McComb (Fairview, Ill./Spoon River Valley).
McComb jumped in the air to defend a potential last second shot by Landon Kurz at the end of regulation, but Kurz faked the shot, inadvertantly flipping McComb upside-down, and he fell head first to floor as the buzzer sounded. Halftime was extended more than 10 minutes as McComb was loaded onto a stretcher. He was taken to the hospital where he was later diagnosed with a concussion.
As for the game, Eureka (8-14, 8-6 SLIAC) did not trail on the opening frame as EC made 7-of-15 three-point attempts compared to 1-of-9 for Westminster (15-6, 10-3 SLIAC). The largest Red Devils' lead came when a trey by Michael Zasada (McHenry, Ill./HS) made the score 17-9.
Eureka was later held without a field goal for almost five minutes allowing the Blue Jays, who have now won five in a row, to knot the game at 21-21 with 4:17 left in the half. A late James Kowalski (El Paso, Ill./El Paso-Gridley) triple gave the Red Devils a 26-23 halftime lead.
Westminster scored the first six points of the second half to take its first lead, and never trailed again. The Red Devils fought back to tie the game on two occasions, with the last coming at 31-31 with 16:26 to play.
The veteran Westminster line up, which included four senior starters, had all they could handle subduing the younger Red Devils, who did not have their lone senior available after halftime. Freshman Craig Black (Sullivan, Ill./HS), who came off the bench to score all eight of his points in the second half, hit a three-pointer to pull EC within 44-42 with 7:42 left. Then, after Westminster had pulled out to a seven point margin, Eureka got back within 49-46 with 4:25 remaining following a pair of Black free throws.
Westminster again pulled ahead by nine in the final minute, but Black hit another trey to set the eventual final score at 58-52. Kowalski stole the ball soon after, giving Eureka a chance to get even closer with still over 30 seconds to play, but a pair of three-point attempts were off the mark for EC allowing Westminster to hold on.
Zasada led Eureka with 11 points and eight boards. Mark Darnall (Lake Mills, Wis./HS) and Kowalski each totaled 10 points and six rebounds. Darnall also dished out five assists. McComb scored six points in 16 minutes of action in the first half.
Eureka shot 39 percent (18-for-46), while holding Westminster to only 34 percent (21-for-62). Andrew Buxton, Westminster's leading scorer, was limited to six points on 2-of-10 shooting, though Jason Warncke picked up the slack with 16 points. The Blue Jays, who came into the game leading the country in fewest turnovers, were charged with nine for the game. Eureka had 21.
The Red Devils now hold a slim half-game lead over Maryville and Greenville for fourth place and the final spot in the SLIAC Post Season Tournament. Eureka will square off with Greenville on the road Wednesday, Feb. 20. The tip-off is set for 8:00 pm following the women's game between the same two schools at 6:00 pm. EC got the best of the Panthers at home on January 23 by the count of 67-60.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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