Eureka Falls at Monmouth, 83-75
MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Eureka men's basketball team opened the 2022-23 season with an 83-75 loss at Monmouth on Wednesday.
The Red Devils were the dominant squad in the first half. They held a 48-32 advantage at halftime and led by as many as 18 early in the second half. The Fighting Scots, however, shot 57.1 percent after the break and gradually took control of the game.
Eureka led for the vast majority of the night, though. The home team didn't close the gap until the last six minutes. The teams then traded blows until Kendall Brasfield's 3-pointer with 4:01 left gave Monmouth a 72-71 edge. He then made a layup and a jumper to extend the lead to five with 3:08 left, and Eureka wasn't able to catch up from there.
Senior guard Austyn Ellison (Hudson, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) tallied a team-high 18 points, dished a team-high five assists and had two steals and two assists. He was one of three Red Devils to finish in double figures.
Junior transfer Noah Persich (Peoria, Ill./Metamora)/Parkland) notched 15 points in his Red Devil debut while shooting 5-for-8 from the field and 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. He also dished four assists.
Another junior transfer, Cody Baer (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap/Southwestern Illinois) added 14 points in his Red Devil debut and was one of three EC players to bring down eight rebounds. Senior big man Logan Dorethy (Hamilton, Ill./West Hancock/Hannibal-LaGrange) had eight rebounds to go with nine points, and freshman Ben Carter (Morton, Ill./Morton) posted eight boards and six shots in his collegiate debut.
Andrew Gonzalez (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) added five rebounds and four points in 14 minutes off the bench. Blake Castonguay (Watseka, Ill./Watseka/Illinois College) chipped in with three assists and three points in nine.
Brasfield finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting for the Fighting Scots. David Williams followed with 20, and Jordan Metcalf double-doubled with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Despite the loss, Eureka outrebounded Monmouth on the night, 39-31.
The Red Devils (0-1) will look to bounce back in a home opener against Aurora (1-0) inside Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and Convocation Center on Friday at 5 p.m.