LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Spalding men's basketball hosted St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) opponent Westminster College on Saturday. The Golden Eagles defeated the Blue Jays, 79-70. 

SU moved to 11-9 (10-4 SLIAC), while Westminster fell to 4-17 (4-10 SLIAC) on the season.

TURNING POINT
It was a slow start to the first half. It took nearly two minutes for either team to score a point. The Blue Jays went on a 7-2 run in the game's first three minutes. Back-to-back mid-range jumpers by Jacoby Johnson put Spalding right back into this game, 13-11 in favor of Westminster. Charlie Storm followed with a three-pointer of his own. No matter what the Golden Eagles did, the Blue Jays kept making threes of their own to keep the lead with eight minutes left in the half. As it hit seven minutes left in the half, SU finally got it back to a tied ball game after a three by Storm, 22-22. It was a back-and-forth contest to end the half, but Andre Crawford hit a jumper to give Spalding the lead into halftime, 34-32.

Spalding opened the half with three straight baskets by Johnson. The second half was truly a battle by both squads. Caden Bradford added to SU's scoring with an and-one layup which made the contest 46-43 in favor of Spalding. It was a back-and-forth battle, with 13 minutes remaining in the game, 48-48. Johnson hit another three-pointer to push the Golden Eagles ahead, 51-48. It was still an even battle as the clock hit six minutes remaining, 61-61. Caden Bradford hit a reverse layup to give SU the lead with four minutes remaining, 63-62. Spalding was only ahead by a point, 71-70, with one minute remaining. Johnson hit another huge shot to give Spalding a three-point cushion with 54 seconds left. This was followed by a Bradford layup in the following possession. As the Blue Jays tried to fight back into this game, Emmanuel Rislin put the emphasis on the game with a two-handed slam. This pushed the Golden Eagles over the top, 79-70.

GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES

• Jacoby Johnson led the Golden Eagles in scoring 18 points (7/13 FG, 2/4 3pt).
• Emmanuel Rislin tallied a double-double, 13 points and 13 rebounds.
• Spalding outrebounded the Blue Jays, 43-39.

NEXT FOR SPALDING
Spalding will travel to SLIAC opponent MUW on Thursday, February 8th. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.