The Golden Eagles lost a nail biter to Westminster 54-51 on Saturday at Derek Smith Gymnasium. Thomas Blakemore led Spalding with 11 points and 6 rebounds. The game was a back and forth battle, but Spalding could not get a basket at the end to push the Golden Eagles ahead. The biggest difference in the game was the discrepancy in fouls called; the Golden Eagles only attempted 5 free throws while Westminster had 29 trips to the foul line on the day. Overall the Golden Eagles looked good, but it was just not enough to get past the Blue Jays.  

Spalding got on the scoreboard first with a jumper in the lane by Thomas Blakemore. Westminster responded with an acrobatic layup from Skylar Tolson to tie the game 2-2, but two baskets from Jametrius Brasher gave Spalding a 6-2 lead at the 16:33 mark in the first half. Westminster battled back to cut the Spalding lead to 2 at 8-6 when Blakemore nailed a 3 pointer from the right side to push Spalding’s lead to 11-6. A Westminster turnover led to fast break layup by Brandon Gabriel to put Spalding ahead 15-8 with 12:15 left in the first half. Another steal and layup by Gabriel pushed the Golden Eagle lead to 10 at 19-9 with 10:21 to play in the first half. Tyler St. Julian split two defenders on his way to a layup putting the Golden Eagles up 24-10 at the 6:24 mark in the first half. Two free throws and a 2 point basket from Tony Woods cut Spalding’s lead to 1O with 4:18 left in the first half. A 3 pointer by Johnell Harding pushed the Golden Eagle lead to 13 at the 3:05 mark, but consecutive 3 pointers by Westminster cut Spalding’s lead to 7 before halftime.

Westminster struck first in the second half with 2 free throws by Tolson to cut Spalding’s lead to 5 at 27-22, but a Blakemore layup pushed the Golden Eagle lead back to 7 on the next possession. Westminster cut the lead to 2 points with 2 free throws from Tolson, but a Quayshaun Hamilton 3 pushed the lead back to 5 at 36-31 with 14 minutes left to play. A 3 pointer by Tolson tied the game 36-36 with 12:41 left in the second half. A slashing layup by Harding regains the lead for Spalding 38-36, but a put back by Westminster’s Taylor Ross ties at 38-38 on the next possession. A 3 point basket from Dominque Sangester gives Spalding a 43-38 lead with 10 minutes to go. Another Sangester three pushes the Golden Eagle lead to 8 at the 8:35 mark in the second half. A hook shot from Westminster’s Mookie Valandra cuts Spaldings lead to 4 at 42-46 with 6:53 left in regulation. A diving layup by Westminster’s Joe Jame’s tied the game at 46 apiece and a free throw from Kelsey Weymuth gave the Blue Jays a one point lead with 3 minutes to play. Spalding retook the lead on a basket from Hamilton 48-47, but Westminster answered with a put back by Kovach to regain the lead 49-48. A free throw by Jones gave Westminster a 50-48, but a Jametrius Brasher layup and free throw regained a 51-50 lead for the Golden Eagles with 58 seconds left.  A 3 pointer by Verdis Lee Jr. gave Westminster a 2 point lead at 53-51 with 37.4 seconds remaining in regulation. A floater by Blakemore missed and Spalding was forced to foul, but Tolson only made 1 of 2 free throws giving the Blue Jays 54-51 lead. A shot attempt by Blakemore was off target giving Westminster the win with a final score of 54-51.

Tags: General, Men's Basketball //