MacMurray Outlasts Eureka, 76-73
EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka College men's basketball team erased an 11-point deficit and held a two-point lead late in the second half, but MacMurray's Tim Frazier hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute to lift the Highlanders to a 76-73 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over the Red Devils, Wednesday night at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena.
The Red Devils led 70-68 after two free throws from Brady Sanders (Minonk, Ill./Fieldcrest H.S./Illinois Wesleyan) with 1:05 remaining. Frazier answered with his 3 to push MC to a 71-70 lead and the Highlanders would lead for the remainder of the game.
After an EC miss with 24 seconds to play, MacMurray made two more foul shots to extend its lead to 73-70. The Red Devils had a chance to tie on the ensuing possession, but the 3-point field attempt was off the mark. The Highlanders grabbed the rebound and made three of four shots from the free-throw line in the final 11 seconds to clinch the win.
The Highlanders led by as many as 11 in the first 20 minutes, but EC used an 8-0 run to pull within 29-26 when sophomore Alex Wiegand (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S.) hit his third career 3-pointer with 5:08 left before halftime. The EC deficit shrunk to two in the final three minutes before MC carried a 41-33 cushion into the locker room.
Eureka started the second half with a flurry, holding MC scoreless for nearly five minutes while taking a 43-41 lead on Sanders's layup. MacMurray pushed the lead back to eight, 60-52, before Eureka rallied again for a 64-62 cushion on a layup by junior Kendall Davis (Peoria, Ill./Limestone H.S./Illinois Central) with 4:08 to play. The two teams traded the lead four times in the game's final five minutes.
Davis scored 24 points and hauled down seven rebounds for the Red Devils. Sanders and sophomore Hank Thomas (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods H.S.) added 16 apiece.
Eureka will continue its four-game homestand to close the regular season when Greenville visits Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena Saturday at 3 p.m. The Red Devils and Panthers played to the highest scoring game in SLIAC history last month, a 145-142 overtime victory for GC.