The Spalding men’s basketball team was in action on Saturday as they welcomed in Principia College for their last home game of the season. It was also senior day and the lone senior on Spalding’s roster, Jamal Bacon, hoped that he and his teammates could end his career at home with a W.

The Golden Eagles got off to a great start as Principia had trouble attacking the full court press. Spalding’s pressure led to a DeWhon McAfee 3 that put the Golden Eagles in front, 8-2. Jamal Bacon matched McAfee with his own 3 pointer on the next possession and Spalding extended their lead to 11-4. Principia couldn’t get it going on the offensive end but unforunatley for the Tigers, DeWhon McAfee could. McAfee scored 5 straight points to give Spalding a commanding lead at 18-4 with 14 minutes remaining in the first half. Principia battled back after a timeout as they attacked the offensive board and Todd Zimmerman buried a 3 to cut the Spalding lead to 9 at 18-9. That was as close as the Panthers would get though as Spalding continued to shoot well from the field. DeWhon McAfee hit another jumper and the Spalding lead had ballooned to 15, 29-14 at the 10 minute mark. When the Golden Eagles couldn’t find the bottom of the net, they attacked the offensive board. Thomas Blakemore and Brandon Williams both grabbed offensive rebounds and converted easy layups to put Spalding ahead, 35-19, with 5 minutes left. Boomer Beckley nailed a 3 near the end of the first half and Spalding had their biggest lead of the night at 40-23. Todd Zimmerman hit a 3 with a minute to go and Spalding took a 40-27 lead into halftime. The Golden Eagles grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in the first half and shot 51% from the field. DeWhon McAfee led the way with 12 points and Jamal Bacon chipped in with 8. Todd Zimmerman led Principia with 12 points.

Two things stood out for Spalding in the first half, DeWhon McAfee and offensive rebounding. Both carried over into the second half as McAfee buried a turnaround jumper to start play. Spalding’s offensive rebound led to open shots and extended the Golden Eagle lead to 55-39 with 14 minutes left. The second half proved to be a half of runs. When Spalding looked like they would pull away, Principia would close back in. As soon as Principia closed back in, Spalding pulled away. Just as the Panthers cut it to 12 at 63-51 following two Todd Zimmerman free throws, Jamal Bacon nailed a three pointer and completed a steal and a layup to push Spalding back in front 68-51 at the 9 minute mark. The Golden Eagles killed the Panthers on the offensive boards. On back to back possessions, Deshawn Curtis and Jametrius Brasher grabbed offensive rebounds and layed it back in for easy buckets to make it 73-51 in Spalding’s favor. But Principia just wouldn’t go away. Todd Zimmerman hit a 3 from the wing and dished to Naveed Hosseinmardi for an easy layup to cut Spalding’s lead to 78-65 at the 5 minute mark. While Principia had no problem scoring, they couldn’t get any closer because of one man, DeWhon McAfee. McAfee took over in the final minutes nailing jumpers and attacking the basket for easy layups. McAfee’s 3 pointer with less than a minute to play sealed the win for the Golden Eagles as the closed out the Panthers, 92-78.

Spalding had one of their best offensive performances of the season and was led by McAfee with a game high 31 points. Jamal Bacon had his best game of the season on senior day scoring 17 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and 3 steals. The Golden Eagles grabbed 23 offensive rebounds and hit 9 three pointers. Principia had 4 players in double figures led by Zimmerman with 22 points.

With the win, Spalding improves to 16-8 on the season and 12-3 in SLIAC play. Principia falls to 8-14 on the season and 5-10 in the SLIAC. Next up for the Golden Eagles will be a road trip to Greenville College on February 21st. Game time is set for an 8pm tip.

Tags: Men's Basketball, Men's Sports //