Eureka Shuts Down, Blows Out Spalding, 73-45
EUREKA – The Eureka men's basketball team extended its winning streak to four games on Sunday with a surprisingly lopsided, 73-45 victory over Spalding.
The last time the two teams met, Eureka fell short on the road, 83-78. Less than a month later, the Red Devils put the game out of reach early and held Spalding to 23.4 percent shooting from the field and 11.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Spalding's 45 total points on Sunday were the fewest Eureka has allowed since Feb. 16, 2015, when the Red Devils blew out Lincoln Christian 75-37. It was the fewest points EC has allowed in a SLIAC contest since the team's 82-42 rout over Blackburn on Feb. 6, 2013
By the end of the game, Spalding had amassed more rebounds (45) than more points (47) and not a single Golden Eagle had reached double figures.
The Red Devils weren't overpowering offensively –shooting 37.1 percent on the game – but they were effective enough on the defensive end that it didn't matter.
Four Red Devils finished in double figures, with junior forward Charlie McKinty (Elmwood, Ill./Elmwood/Illinois College) notching a team-high 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, with a pair of 3-pointers, six rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Senior J'Len Crawford (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) recorded the third double-double of his career, posting 11 points and 10 rebounds, with three triples, two assists and a steal.
Logan Dorethy (Hamilton, Ill./West Hancock) and Austyn Ellison (Hudson, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) each contributed 10 points. The latter distributed a team-high four assists and notched four rebounds. The former gathered four boards and an assist.
Jordan Brooks (St. Joseph, Ill./St. Joseph-Ogden/Lincoln Land) added seven points and a pair of boards off the bench.
Eighteen different players entered the game for the Red Devils, and 13 of them ended up getting on the board.
Spalding scored the first points of the game and traded baskets with the home team in the first three minutes. Then, however, the Red Devils ripped off a 19-0 run. It started with a jumper by Dorethy that made it 5-4 in favor of Spalding with 15:55 left in the first half. It ended with a layup on an assist by Ellison that gave EC a 21-5 advantage with 9:01 left in the first half.
EC kept pouring it on, extending it to 23 before going into halftime leading 41-18.
The Red Devils started the second half with a 12-1 run and took all of their starters out with almost 13 minutes left to play. Their largest lead of the half was 39 with 6:27 to go.
Eureka tallied 18 assists while forcing 18 Spalding turnovers. The home also bested the visitors on the boards, 49-47.
Spalding's Christian Stewart – the SLIAC's leading scorer – racked up 34 points in the teams' first matchup. On Sunday, he finished with eight points on 4-of-14 shooting with a team-high eight rebounds. Troy Amanor was the Golden Eagles' leading scorer with nine points on 4-of-9 shooting.
The win moved the Red Devils to 11-9 on the season and 7-2 in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. They're now just a half-game behind Fontbonne (11-5, 7-1 SLIAC) for first place in the league standings with five games left in the regular season.
Eureka will next take on Webster (5-15, 3-6 SLIAC) on the road at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday before welcoming first-place Fontbonne to Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena Athletic Complex on Saturday at 3 p.m.
