CARLINVILLE, Ill. – The Spalding men's basketball team topped Blackburn on the road Saturday, 84-77, sweeping the SLIAC series from the Beavers this season. The Golden Eagles improved to 9-13 on the season and 7-9 in SLIAC competition, while Blackburn fell to 12-11 and 8-8 in SLIAC play.
THE BASICS
THE SCORE: Spalding 84 – Blackburn 77
LOCATION: Carlinville, Ill.
RECORD: Spalding 9-13 (7-9 SLIAC), Blackburn 12-11 (8-8 SLIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Golden Eagles got on the scoreboard first following a Steven Gordon jumper, but the Beavers outscored SU, 9-4, over the next four minutes to take a 9-6 lead. The two teams exchanged the lead three more times throughout the first half with SU eventually pulling ahead, 27-25, following a Brandon Williams three-pointer. Another Williams' three-pointer stretched the Golden Eagle lead to six points, but Blackburn's Reed Rusten answered on the other end to trim the SU lead to three points, 40-37, at the half. Blackburn used a 5-0 spurt to start the second half regaining the lead, eventually edging out to a 53-46 margin with 12:52 to play. Back-to-back three-pointers by Marcus Montgomery, a Brendon Holt jumper, and Rylan Rowe and-one capped off a 10-2 Spalding run to put the Golden Eagles back in front, 57-55, with 9:01 remaining. After four straight Beaver points, a Dominique Ellis layup sparked a 7-0 run pushing Spalding out to a 65-59 lead. A Holt layup with 3:12 to go pushed SU to a 13-point lead, their largest of the game, at 76-63, and the Golden Eagles went on to win, 84-77.

Rylan Rowe came off the bench to lead the Golden Eagles with 24 points going 9-of-14 from the field. Marcus Montgomery was red hot from the beyond the arc going 4-of-4 from long range scoring 20 points. Freshman forward Brendan Holt had a solid all-around performance recording 14 points (7-10 FG), five rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals. Brandon Williams also finished in double figures with 12 points, while Dominique Ellis passed out a team-high four assists.

FOR THE FOES

Four Beavers finished in double figures, led by Reed Rusten's 14 points. Malcolm Scott tallied a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Duncan King scored 13 points and Karson Hayes added 12 points.

UP NEXT

Up next, the Golden Eagles host Senior Night taking on Greenville Wednesday, February 14. Tip-off is 8:00 pm at Derek Smith Gymnasium.