Three Red Devils Finish in Double Figures as Eureka Takes Down MUW

EUREKA, IL. – The Eureka men's basketball team defeated Mississippi University for Women by a score of 79-65 on Saturday afternoon. 

When Eureka travelled to Mississippi earlier this season, the Owls capitalized on an early lead in the first half and never allowed the maroon and gold back into the game. This time around, the Red Devils made sure not to let this happen. The Owls' only lead of the game came at 2-0. A pair of 3-pointers by Ben Carter and a third tacked on by Noah Persich gave the Red Devils their first lead of the game at 9-2, and they remained in the driver's seat the rest of the way.

Eureka headed into halftime ahead 42-34. They only extended their lead in the second half, gaining their largest lead of the game, a 20-point advantage, off a Blake Logsdon layup with 6:36 remaining on the clock to go ahead 68-48.

Eureka's victory was largely due to standout performances from Ben Carter (Morton, Ill./Morton), Cody Baer (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap/Southwestern Illinois), and Peewee Brown (Peoria, Ill./Manual/Lincoln). Carter notched 24 points, going 5-for-8 from three. Baer picked up his eleventh double-double this season, posting 19 points and a remarkable 17 boards. Brown added 16 points to the tally. 

Noah Persich (Peoria, Ill./Metamora) and Jalen Johnson (Rock Falls, Ill./Rock Falls) rounded out the scoring for the starting group. Persich picked up 7 points and Johnson chipped in 2, while carrying a majority of the team's ball-handling responsibilities. Eureka's bench supplied another 10 points as Dylan Logsdon (Meridian, Idaho, Mountain View), Blake Logsdon (Meridian, Idaho, Mountain View), and Jonah Lauff (Pana, Ill./Pana) all got in on the scoring.

The Owls had only one player finish in double-digits for scoring. Tyson Smithey came off the bench to notch 16 points for the visitors, along with 8 rebounds. Dariun Doss and Chris Evans each added 8 points apiece.

Saturday's victory lifts Eureka to seventh in the SLIAC standings and put them back in playoff position. With four games remaining in the regular season, the Red Devils will need a few more important results in the last two weeks to punch their ticket to the postseason.

Coach Wilde and the Red Devils (7-14, 5-9 SLIAC) will look to build off their last two performances on Wednesday night, when they travel to St. Louis to take on Fontbonne (14-7, 9-5 SLIAC).