LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Spalding University men's basketball team will head to No. 11 Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. for their NCAA Tournament First Round matchup. The Golden Eagles will take on Emory Friday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. EST at the Woodruff P.E. Center.
Admission is $6 for adults, $3 for students w/ID, senior citizens and children 2-12, and children under 2 are free. If you can't make the trip to Atlanta you can watch the game
LIVE HERE.
The Golden Eagles (18-9; 13-5) earned SLIAC's automatic bid by winning the SLIAC Tournament Championship Saturday night in St. Louis over Fontbonne University, 58-51. This marks the second time in the past three seasons the Golden Eagles have punched a ticket to the big dance.
Spalding is led by the back court of SLIAC First Team All-Conference guards
Brandon Gabriel and
Brandon Goeing. Gabriel, this past week's SLIAC Tournament MVP, is second on the team in scoring averaging 14.6 points per game, while passing out 3.0 assists and grabbing 4.1 boards. The sharpshooting Goeing leads the Golden Eagles netting 15.1 points per game, while connecting on 37.7 percent of attempts from beyond the arc.
Emory (20-5; 10-4) earned an automatic bid by winning the University Athletic Association Championship. The Eagles are making their third straight and their fourth-ever NCAA D III Tournament appearance. Spalding is 0-1 all-time vs. Emory falling to the Eagles, 67-53, last season at the Birmingham Southern Black Tie Classic.
The Eagles come into the tournament averaging 80.2 points per game with a +10.8 scoring margin. Emory is led by 6-8 forward Alex Foster. The junior big man is the top scorer in the UAA averaging 20.2 points and pulling down 8.0 rebounds per game. Foster is aided by 6-0 guard Michael Florin who ranks second in the UAA in assists with 5.8 per game, and is the Eagles third leading scorer averaging 11.3 points per contest.
If the Golden Eagles advance they will face the winner of Whitworth University vs. LaGrange College Saturday, March 7 at 7:00 p.m. EST.
