Red Devils drop nail-biter against Blackburn

EUREKA – In a tightly-contested matchup, the Eureka men's basketball team dropped its second SLIAC game of the season at home against Blackburn on Wednesday, 79-76.

Despite leading 75-73 with less than 30 seconds remaining, the Red Devils just barely missed out on a victory in this one-possession thriller. It was the second time in two weeks that the Red Devils met the Beavers, having been topped 73-62 in Carlinville on December 2nd. 

It was clear throughout the whole contest that this game might come down to the wire. Both teams traded shares of the lead on and off: never being separated by more than 9 points (when the Red Devils led 46-37 early on in the 2nd half). In fact, both teams finished the night at a dead tie from the field, both shooting 30 for 65 (46.2%). The only real difference came down to Blackburn being slightly better from outside the arc on the night, making 9 of their 23 tries (39.1%), compared to Eureka, who knocked down 5 of 14 (35.7%).

Similar to the last time these teams met up, Eureka's Peewee Brown (Peoria, Ill./Manual/Lincoln) and Cody Baer (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap/Southwestern Illinois) led the way for the Red Devils, combining for 42 points. Brown ended the night with 24 points, 3 steals, and 9 rebounds, leading the team in all three categories. Baer put up 18 points, 2 blocks, and 8 rebounds.

Noah Persich (Peoria, Ill./Metamora/Parkland) also made a notable impact on the game, putting up 8 points and taking good care of the ball all game.

The Beavers were led by Sophomore, Izayah Talmadge, who put up 26 points and had 3 assists. Darius Duff battled inside the paint to tally 11 rebounds. With 23 seconds to go, Cameron Johnson knocked down a critical 3-point shot from range for Blackburn. This shot put the Beavers up 76-75 and was the last time the lead would change hands.

A continually improving Eureka (3-6, 1-3 SLIAC) will be on the road at Monmouth (Ill.) on Saturday (Dec. 16).