CARLINVILLE, Ill. – The Spalding University men's basketball team defeated the Blackburn College Beavers, 63-49 Saturday afternoon. The win by the Eagles, their eighth straight, improves their record to 13-5 overall, including 10-1 in conference. Blackburn fell to 3-14 on the season and 2-8 in SLIAC play.

The Eagles backcourt did much of the scoring load this game, with Brandon Gabriel (26 points), Brandon Goeing (17 points) and James Turner (10 points) all scoring double figures. Turner had eight rebounds and six assists while Bud Moore added five assists and three blocked shots for Spalding, who forced 18 turnovers.

The first half was a series of mini-runs, with Spalding jumping out to a 7-2 lead after back-to-back three pointers by Goeing and Gabriel. Blackburn countered with a 10-2 run of their own to go ahead 12-9 before a 12-2 Spalding run gave the Eagles a 21-14 lead with just over six minutes remaining until halftime. The Beavers fought back to within two at 25-23 before a Brandon Gabriel layup at the end of the first half gave the Eagles a four point lead heading into break.

The Beavers fought hard to start the second half and were able to tie the game twice, the last time at 39-apiece with 11 minutes to play. This was when Brandon Goeing heated up; drilling three triples during an 11-0 run that gave Spalding a lead they would never relinquish. The last three gave Spalding a 50-39 lead with 7:16 to play. The Beavers would not go quietly, scoring the next seven points to trim the lead to four with four minutes left to play. After four quick Spalding points, a Blackburn three pointer cut the lead back down to five, at 54-49. Spalding did not allow the Beavers to score again, ending the game on a 9-0 run for the final margin.

Spalding's next tilt is set for Tuesday, January 27 at 8:00 p.m. EST at Eureka College.