Eureka rallies past Westminster in overtime
EUREKA, Ill. – Eureka College men's basketball senior guard Sam Feehan (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame [Illinois Central]) notched his first double-double as a Red Devil, scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, and classmate Tommy Goulding (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora [Aurora University]) added 21 points en route to a 84-79 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Westminster in overtime, Wednesday night inside the Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and Convocation Center.
The Red Devils continue an impressive home stretch, staying perfect at home this season and improving to 5-7 overall and 3-2 in SLIAC play.
Westminster jumped out to an early 5-0 lead to start the contest, but Eureka engineered a run of their own, scoring the next nine points to build a 9-5 lead with 16:27 remaining in the first half.
Trailing by one, the Red Devils mounted another 9-0 run to regain the lead and build a 29-21 advantage at the five-minute mark before settling for a 33-26 lead heading into the locker room.
EC opened the second half on a 10-3 run, including six-straight points from Feehan, pushing their lead to 45-31. A made jumper from freshman guard Hank Thomas (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) at the 11:13 mark gave the host their biggest lead of the night, 51-36.
The Blue Jays narrowed the gap over the final ten minutes of play, making key shots down the stretch to pull even with the Red Devils, including a pair of made free throws with 40 seconds left. WC had two chances to win the game in the closing seconds, but those chances both could not find the bottom of the net.
Backed by a nine-point effort from Goulding in the overtime frame, Eureka was able to build a quick five-point lead and sustain the edge until time expired.
WC's Nick Carlos paced the Blue Jays with 19 points off the bench, shooting 5-for-15 from field. Eureka out-rebounded the visitors, 57-37.
Freshman forward Alex Wiegand (Washington, Ill./Washington) punched his first collegiate double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and snagging 10 rebounds. It was the first time two Red Devils tallied double-doubles in the same contests since Mark Lessen and Niko Rivera accomplished the feat against the Blue Jays on Feb. 22, 2013.
Eureka College Statistics, Leaders
Field Goal Percentage -.484 (30-62)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .286 (4-14)
Free Throw Percentage – .606 (20-33)
Feehan (22 points, 11 rebounds)
Wiegand (12 points, 10 rebounds)
Goulding (21 points, 3 rebounds)
Westminster College Statistics, Leaders
Field Goal Percentage - .325 (26-80)
3-Point Field Goal Percentage - .343 (13-38)
Free Throw Percentage - .727 (14-19)
Carlos (19 points, 4 rebounds)
Collin Caywood (16 points, 4 rebounds)
Tanner Gentges (12 points, 6 rebounds)
What's Next?
Eureka hits the road Saturday for a conference showdown at Iowa Wesleyan. Tip-off against the Tigers is set for 3 p.m. in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.