LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Spalding University men's basketball team pulled away late to top Eureka College, 70-62.

Brandon Gabriel paced the Golden Eagles with 25 points, while shooting 50% from the field. Brandon Goeing added 16 points connecting on 4-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc.  

Sam James led the Red Devils with 17 points, including 10 points from the free throw line.

Both teams traded baskets over the first five minutes leading to a 9-9 tie, but made jumpers on consecutive possessions by Chad Sellars and Chris Leon gave the Golden Eagles a 13-9 lead. Eureka ran off ten straight points taking a 19-13 lead on a Cody Behrens jumper with 11:10 to play. Brandon Gabriel scored seven points fueling a 9-0 SU run to cut the deficit to one at the 7:02 mark. EC's Parker Gibson answered with a jumper to push the Red Devil's lead to three, but Gabriel and Goeing combined for seven points to flip the SU deficit to a four point lead. EC outscored SU 5-2 over the final 4:18 to send the game to the break tied 32-32.

SU scored the first five points out of the break to take a 37-32 lead on a Goeing three-pointer. Both teams exchanged the lead over the next 10 minutes resulting in a 54-54 tie with 7:08 to play. A pair of Sam James free throws gave the Red Devils a two point lead, but a Gabriel three-pointer and a Renaldo Moore layup gave the Golden Eagles a 59-56 advantage with 4:22 remaining. Two Cody Behrens free throws cut Spalding's lead to one point, but a 5-0 SU run extended the Golden Eagles advantage to six with 1:39 to play and SU went on to win 70-62.  

The Golden Eagles will be back in action when they compete in the "Mose" Hole/Kiwanis Tournament December 29-30 in Wooster, Ohio. SU opens the tournament against Hope College Dec. 29.