LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Spalding men's basketball team struggled to make plays late losing a heartbreaker at Iowa Wesleyan, 81-79, in overtime. The Golden Eagles fell to 8-9 on the season and 6-5 in SLIAC competition, while Iowa Wesleyan improved to 4-14 and 4-7 in SLIAC play.  

THE BASICS
THE SCORE: Iowa Wesleyan 81 – Spalding 79                          
LOCATION: Ruble Arena, Mt. Pleasant, IA.   
RECORD: Spalding 8-9 (6-5 SLIAC), Iowa Wesleyan 4-17 (4-7 SLIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Spalding trailed the entire first half until Cornelius Watts banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer to push SU in front, 36-35, at the half. The Golden Eagles carried the momentum into the second half outscoring the Tigers 21-8 to take a 57-43 lead with 11:29 to play. A Dominique Ellis jumper extended SU's lead to a game-high 15 points with 7:44 remaining and the Golden Eagles look to be on their way to victory. With SU leading 69-55 with 5:33 to go, Iowa Wesleyan outscored Spalding 16-2 to tie the game with 15 seconds remaining. With a chance to win, three-point attempts by Ellis and Robert Bendingfield were off the mark sending the game to overtime. Four free throws by Ellis and a Watts jumper gave SU a 77-71 lead with 2:47 to play in OT. Nevertheless, Iowa Wesleyan outscored Spalding 10-2 to end the game stealing the win, 81-79.

Dominique Ellis paced the Spalding offense with 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting, while pulling down seven rebounds. Cornelius Watts and Robert Bendingfield also finished in double figures scoring 14 points apiece. Brandon Williams pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.

A key contributor to the loss was turnovers and missed free throws down the stretch. In the final 2:43, the Golden Eagles missed three free throws and committed three turnovers.

FOR THE FOES

Brock Butler carried the load for Iowa Wesleyan pouring in 35 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

UP NEXT

Up next, the Golden Eagles head to Westminster to take on the Blue Jays Saturday, January 27 at 4:00 pm EST.