LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Spalding men's basketball team topped Principia, 75-71, to Saturday to improve to 8-9 overall and 7-3 in the SLIAC.

THE BASICS
THE SCORE: Spalding 75 – Principia 61
LOCATION: Columbia Gym | Louisville, Ky.
RECORDS: Spalding 8-9 (7-3 SLIAC) | Principia 3-13 (2-7 SLIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
- In the first half, the teams exchanged the lead three times over the first 10 minutes playing to a 10-10 tie. The Golden Eagles trailed 17-12 after a 7-2 Panthers run, but a pair of Brendan Holt free throws sparked an 8-2 run that put SU in front, 20-19, following a pair of Bendingfield free throws. Spalding outscored Principia, 9-6 over the remainder of the half extending their lead to six points right before the end of the half. Dominique Ellis swiped the ball from Prin's Travaughn Goodman and took it to the other end for a layup just before the buzzer sounded sending SU to the break leading, 29-26.

- To start off the second half, the Panthers turned the ball over three times in the first four minutes helping the Golden Eagles maintain a six point lead. Marcus Montgomery helped SU extend their lead, scoring five straight points to push the margin 13 points with just under 15 minutes to play. With 10 minutes to go, the Panthers would attempt to make a push. However, the Golden Eagles defense held them off, and Montgomery would hit two more free-throws and knock down another three-pointer to keep SU in front by 13 points with five minutes left to play. A three pointer with 1:09 to play would trim the lead to eight points, but freshmen Brian Tribble and Jacob Coke would each convert a pair of free throws and Bendingfield would swipe a steal and race up court for a layup to make the final margin, 75-61.

NOTABLE STATS
- Marcus Montgomery had an outstanding game. The sophomore came off the bench to score 19 points in 19 minutes, while shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the field including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, while also going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Bendingfield also had a solid outing tallying 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assist, and 2 steals. Brendan Holt added 12 points and 4 rebounds, while Dominique Ellis had a monster game on the glass grabbing a game high 14 rebounds and adding nine points.

FOR THE FOES
- Clark Davidson finished with a double-double, Davidson had a game high 21 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Micah Paulson had 18 points, 5 assist, and 5 rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
- The Golden Eagles are back in action Wednesday, January 23^rd at Eureka taking on the Red Devils at 8:30 pm EST.