Following a 2 game road trip that saw Spalding defeat Fontbonne and fall to conference leader Webster, the Golden Eagles returned home Friday to face non-conference opponent, Covenant College. It was the first of two games on the weekend and to get it started off on a right note, the Golden Eagles needed to send Covenant home with a loss.

It was a slow start for the Golden Eagles as they struggled to attack Covenants 2-3 zone. Early turnovers allowed Covenant to jump out to a 4-0 start. Every Spalding offensive possession was a chore. The Golden Eagles couldn’t find the lanes to get it inside and passes around the perimeter led to more turnovers and a 14-4 Covenant lead. With 9 minutes left in the first half, Cody Cutsinger finally found the bottom of the net for Spalding with a 3 from the wing. Cutsingers 3 stopped Covenants 11-0 run and cut the lead the Covenant lead to 15-7. Covenant guard Callum Sears immediately answered with a 3 of his own and began another Covenant run that pushed their lead to 25-8 at the 7 minute mark. The Golden Eagles were in a big hole and starting around the 6 minute mark, they began to dig out. Jamal Bacon hit his first of three 3 pointers in the first half to begin a 13-0 Spalding run. After forcing 4 consecutive Covenant turnovers, Thomas Blakemore buried a short jumper with less than a minute to go to cut the Covenant lead all the way down to 1 at 27-26 heading in to halftime. Jamal Bacon led Spalding in the first half with 9 points while Callum Sears scored 12 for Covenant.

Spalding’s leading scorer DeWhon McAfee was held scoreless for the entire first half but his layup at the beginning of the second half gave the Golden Eagles their first lead of the game at 28-27. Spalding carried their defensive pressure over from the end of the first half and forced a Covenant turnover that led to a Deshawn Curtis layup to make in 32-29 in favor of Spalding. Covenant hung with the Golden Eagles and a layup by forward Sam Bowman put Covenant back in front, 39-38 at the 12 minute mark. After a 2 minute period that saw each team get a little sloppy with turnovers, DeWhon McAfee and Callum Sears traded 3 pointers and the Spalding lead held at 2, 44-42 with 9 minutes to play. While Spalding’s defensive pressure maintained its intensity, one player that didn’t have trouble with it was Callum Sears. Sears’ 3 pointer at the 8 minute mark knotted the game back up at 45. The Golden Eagles answered Sears’ 3 with an 8-0 run that saw DeWhon McAfee and Jamal Bacon both bury 3 pointers to give Spalding a 53-45 lead. Just as it looked like Spalding would pull away, Sears kept Covenant in the game. Sears’ consecutive jumpers and a 3 pointer by teammate Jon DeVries cut the Spalding lead to 4, 60-56 with 2 minutes to go. With 30 seconds left, Spalding still held a slim lead at 64-60 until DeVries nailed another huge 3 from the top of the key to make it a 1 point game, 64-63. With 2 seconds left and the score still at 64-63, Covenant had one last chance to win it. However, the third time wasn’t the charm for DeVries as his 3 point attempt came up short and Spalding took the victory, 67-63.

With the win, Spalding improves to 15-8 on the season while Covenant falls to 5-19 with the loss. Spalding was led by DeWhon McAfee with 15 points. Jamal Bacon hit four 3 pointers and scored 13 points. Covenant was led by Callum Sears who scored a game high 28 points. The Golden Eagles won’t have to wait long for their next game as they’re back in action tomorrow at 3pm against Principia College. Earlier in the season, the Golden Eagles defeated Principia on their home court, 82-66.

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