Eureka Pushes Past Aurora in Home Opener, 79-73
EUREKA – The Eureka men's basketball team pushed past Aurora in the second half and seized a 79-73 non-conference victory in the Red Devils' home opener on Friday night.
Austyn Ellison (Hudson, Ill./Bloomington Central Catholic) dropped a team-high 18 points for the second straight game. The senior guard shot 5-for-11 from the field, hit two 3s, went 6-for-8 from the free-throw line and had four assists and two steals.
Senior big man Logan Dorethy (Hamilton, Ill./West Hancock/Hannibal-LaGrange) had a big game down low, posting 14 points, nine rebounds and a team-high five assists. Freshman Ben Carter (Morton, Ill./Morton) contributed a career-high 11 points in his second game as a Red Devil.
Junior transfer and fellow big man Cody Baer (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap/Southwestern Illinois) notched eight points and nine rebounds and had two blocks, and senior Andrew Gonzalez (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) contributed eight points, six rebounds and two blocks in 15 strong minutes off the bench.
The Red Devils shot 49 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range on the night.
The win moved the team to 1-1 on the season after falling on the road at Monmouth on Wednesday.
"We were really resilient," Ellison said. "It's a credit to all of our guys sticking together and just playing together as a team. We've got to stick together in those moments – that's what great teams are made of."
Playing without All-SLIAC forward Charlie McKinty (Elmwood, Ill./Elmwood/Illinois College) for the second game, the Red Devils relied on their senior leadership and depth to come from behind after a slow start to the second half.
Tied at 31-31 at halftime, the Spartans jumped out to a seven-point in the first four minutes.
Then, Carter hit a 3 to start a 10-2 run that ended with Ellison knocking down the go-ahead triple to make it 46-45 with over 14 minutes to play.
With less than 12 minutes to play, EC coach Chip Wilde entered Andrew Coker (Washington, Ill./Washington) into the game for the first time in his collegiate career. He ended up giving the Red Devils a huge lift, scoring 10 points in six minutes and sinking two huge 3-pointers.
"Something I learned from my high school coaches was 'always be ready, always be prepared,'" Coker said. "I was just ready for the moment. Coach told me to get out there, so I just hopped out of my seat and started balling."
With the Red Devils clinging to a one-point lead with 10 1/2 minutes left, Coker received the ball on the wing on an out of bounds play, fired and extended EC's advantage to four.
After that, Gonzalez and David Hill (Elgin, Ill./St. Edwards Catholic/Elgin Community College) delivered back-to-back buckets to make it 57-50 and prompt an Aurora timeout.
Coker's trey with 8 1/2 minutes left gave the Red Devils an eight-point lead, electrifying the crowd once again. Earlier in the day, Coker played extensive minutes in the Red Devils' JV game, and he said he was feeling it afterwards, but the fatigue faded when his team needed him.
"When coach told me to get in, the adrenaline just rushed through me, and I wasn't tired anymore," Coker said.
The Red Devils extended the lead to as many as 12 in the final five minutes, with a Gonzalez put-in in the lane making it 68-56.
The Spartans didn't go away, though. They came within three points in the final minute, but Dorethy made a pair of free throws and Coker went 4-for-4 at the line to close it out strong.
"It was huge to open it up big at home," Ellison added. "Love to see the fans out here, and we definitely fed off their energy, as usual. I love playing at this place."
Eureka (1-1) will next take on Cornell College (0-1) on the road in a non-conference matchup on Sunday at 2 p.m.
