LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Spalding men's basketball team fell at home to Eureka College, 82-71, Saturday afternoon at Derek Smith Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles drop to 8-12 on the season and 6-8 in SLIAC competition, while the Red Devils improved to 14-7 and 9-5 in SLIAC play.  

THE BASICS
THE SCORE: Eureka 82 – Spalding 71
LOCATION: Derek Smith Gymnasium, Louisville, Ky.   
RECORD: Spalding 8-12 (6-8 SLIAC), Eureka 14-7 (9-5 SLIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

A pair of Brandon Williams' three-pointers helped the Golden Eagles race out to an early 6-1 lead. Eureka fought back, tying the game 14-14, but a Brendan Holt layup on SU's next possession put the Golden Eagles back in front, 16-14, with 8:54 to play in the half. However, Eureka outscored Spalding 19-7 over the remainder of the half to leave SU trailing, 33-23, at the break. Eureka gradually pulled away in the second half stretching their lead to a game-high 16 points with 9:54 to play. Spalding slowly edged their way back into the game eventually cutting the deficit to six points following a Holt layup with 2:02 remaining. Nevertheless, the Red Devils held of the Golden Eagles comeback attempt topping SU, 82-71.

Dominique Ellis paced Spalding with 19 points and nine assists. Brandon Williams tallied a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Brendan Holt added 11 points, four rebounds and two blocks. Rylan Rowe and Steven Gordon also finished in double figures scoring 12 points and 10 points respectively.

FOR THE FOES

In the absence of the nation's leading scorer, Shea Feehan, and starting point guard Hank Thomas, Dakota Bennington stepped up in a big way dropping 33 points and pulling down eight rebounds.

UP NEXT

Up next, the Golden Eagles hit the road to take on the Webster Gorloks Wednesday, February 7. Tipoff is 9:00 pm EST at Grant Gymnasium in St. Louis, Mo.