LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Spalding men's basketball needed a little extra time to take down Blackburn College 69-64 for a third-straight St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) win.
The Golden Eagles moved to 6-14 overall and an even 5-5 in the SLIAC. Spalding is tied with Eureka for fourth in the conference standings. The Beavers fell to 7-14 overall and 3-7 in league play.
TURNING POINT
Blackburn held the lead in the first half until the Golden Eagles went on a 9-0 run starting at the 11-minute mark. The Beavers were held scoreless for a little under five minutes during the stretch.
Spalding surrendered the lead almost immediately in the second half, before taking it back seconds later. It was a tight matchup with the teams exchanging the lead five times and tying each other three times. The Golden Eagles only held the lead for 1:46 in the half, but Spalding came alive when it mattered.
Down three with 17 seconds left, a pass sent to
Caden Bradford was bobbled. Bradford was able to gather the ball and shot it from the top of the arc with a defender's hand in his face. The shot went in and send the contest to overtime.
The Golden Eagles scored the first five points of the extra period. Blackburn cut the SU lead to three twice, but solid free throw shooting for Spalding locked down the 69-64 win.
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES
- Maxton Campbell notched his fourth double-double of the season with a team-leading 16 points and 11 rebounds. He made a career-high six free throws.
- Caden Bradford was next in the scoring column for SU with 14 points. He also added a career-high eight rebounds.
- Charlie Storm rounded out the double-digit contingent with 11 points.
- Down the stretch free throws made the difference with SU making a season-high 24 baskets from the charity stripe.
- The Golden Eagle bench again came up big. The reserves scored 29 points.
- Spalding had a large margin in second-chance points with a 19-7 advantage.
- Sharing is caring: SU tied the team's season-high of six assists.
NEXT FOR SPALDING
The Golden Eagles have one final SLIAC road trip. Spalding faces Principia on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. and Westminster on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
