The Golden Eagles got a big win over Eureka College 70-64 Wednesday night with a  game that was back and forth from the beginning, but Spalding pulled it out in the end. The Golden Eagles got big nights from Jametrius Brasher and Thomas Blakemore. Brasher had a double-double scoring 16 and collecting 15 rebounds. Blakemore led all Golden Eagle scorers with 19 points. Spalding’s next home game is January 10th against Fontbonne University at 8:00pm.

A Jametrius Brasher layup put Spalding up 2-0 to start the game. Eureka responded with a slashing layup and jumper to go up 4-2. Quay Hamilton tied the game at 4 with a nice rebound and put back. Eureka went on a 4-0 run, but a two Brasher free throws made the score 8-6 with 14:37 left in the first half. Brasher tied the game at 8 with a layup of an offensive rebound. Eureka took the lead 11-8 on a deep three pointer by Jordan Kindred. Brasher got Spalding back within one with a pair of free throws. Eureka stretched their lead to 3 at 13-10 with two free throws, but a Quay Hamilton put back put Spalding down 1 with 9:43 left in the first half. The teams traded basket until Eureka took a 3 point lead at the 7:55 mark in the first half. Blakemore put Spalding within 1, but Eureka responded with a floater in the lane to go up 19-16. Another Brasher put back and jumper gave Spalding 20-19 lead, but Eureka answered with a jumper to regain the lead 21-20. Blakemore scored 4 straight points to give the Golden Eagles a 24-21 lead, but Eureka tied it at 24 with a three pointer by Austin Nicholas. Two free throws gave Eureka a 26-24 lead, but a Blakemore three pointer from the corner put Spalding up 27-26 with under a minute to play in the first half. A Montray Robertson hook at the buzzer put Spalding up 29-26 at halftime. Jametrius Brasher had a monster first half scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Eureka scored first in the second half with an alley oop to Niko Rivera cutting Spalding’s lead to 1 at 29-28. Blakemore answered with runner on the other end to put Spalding back up 3 at 31-28. A jumper by Eureka cuts Spalding’s lead to 1 at 31-30. Eureka took the lead on a layup, but back to back St. Julian three pointers put the Golden Eagles up 37-32. Eureka went on a 6-3 run cutting Spalding’s lead to 1 at 39-38. A St. Julian block led to a 4-0 Spalding run putting the Golden Eagles up 43-38 with 14:17 left in the second half. Eureka responded with a layup, but a Quay Hamilton three pointer put Spalding up 46-40 at the 13:28 mark. A Chris McDonald free throw and Tyler St. Julian layup extended Spalding’s lead to 9 at 54-45 with 9:09 left in regulation.  Brandon Gabriel hit a jumper in the lane to put Spalding up 56-45, but Eureka responded with a 4-0 run cutting Spalding’s lead to 7 with 6:45 left to play. A nice Gabriel feed to Blakemore for a layup pushed the Golden Eagle lead to 9 at the 5:32 mark. Eureka answered with a 5-0 run to cut Spalding’s lead to 4 with 4:46 left in the game. A Brandon Gabriel three pointer with the shot clock winding down, and St. Julian layup put Spalding up 63-54. Eureka went on a 4-0 run, but a Brasher layup puts Spalding back up 7 with 2:42 left in regulation. A free throw and layup by Mark Lessen put Eureka within 4 with 40.3 seconds to play. Two clutch free throws by Blakemore put Spalding up 67-61 with 37.8 seconds left in the second half. A layup with 27.2 left puts Eureka within 4. Both teams traded free throws, and Spalding prevailed 70-64

Tags: Men's Basketball //