GREENVILLE, Ill. – Despite a school-record 51 points by sophomore Marcus Montgomery, the Spalding men's basketball team lost to Greenville, 133-121, Saturday at H.J. Long Gymnasium dropping to 4-9 overall and 3-3 in conference.
 
THE BASICS
THE SCORE: Greenville 133 – Spalding 121
LOCATION: H.J. Long Gymnasium | Greenville, Ill.
RECORDS: Spalding 4-9 (3-3 SLIAC) | Greenville 9-4 (6-0 SLIAC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Golden Eagles fell behind from tipoff due to the Panthers suffocating defense. Within the first five minutes, the Spalding committed 10 turnovers resulting in a 15-9 Greenville lead. SU was able to battle back, a defensive rebound by Marcus Montgomery led to a layup on the other end by Keith Wallace cutting the SU deficit to 15-11. The Golden Eagles pulled even at 25-25 on a Jobby Howard layup at the 10:34 mark. The Panthers would again push the lead to double-digits taking a 12-point, but Spalding would make another run eventually trimming the Panther's lead to four following a Marcus Montgomery mid-range jumper. However, the Panthers Johari Dix would answered with a pair of free-throws to send the Panther to the locker room up, 63-57, at the half.
 
- To open the second half, the Panthers defense forced nine turnovers allowing the Panthers to extend their lead to 85-67 following a Marvin Bateman three pointer. Greenville kept their foot on gas outscoring SU 32-21 over the next eight minutes stretching their lead to 31 points with 7:08 to play. Marcus Montgomery lit up the scoreboard over the final seven minutes, scoring 21 points during the stretch to help the Golden Eagles trim the deficit to 12 points at the final horn.
 
NOTABLE STATS
- Marcus Montgomery had a career night, leading all scorers with a school-record 51 points. Montgomery's 51 points is the second highest points total in SLIAC game. Tory Amanor finished with a double-double tallying 19 points and 11 rebounds. Robert Bendingfield finished with 14 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds.
 
- The Golden Eagles struggled to keep control of the ball committing 46 turnovers, while the Panthers committed just 17 turnovers. The Panthers were able to score 48 points off turnovers compared to SU 17 points off turnovers giving Greenville a plus-31 margin.
 
FOR THE FOES
- Eric Williams led the Panthers scoring a team-high 26 points, while grabbing three rebounds and passing out three assists. Johari Dix had 24 points, as well as, a team-high six assists.
 
UP NEXT
- The Golden Eagles are back in action Wednesday, January 9 traveling to MacMurry to take on the Highlanders at 8:00 pm EST.