Louisville City Wire

Men’s basketball ends final road trip with OT victory

In the final round of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) battle of the birds, Spalding men's basketball earned an 86-77 overtime win over Westminster.

The Golden Eagles are 7-15 overall and 6-6 in the SLIAC after the win. Spalding is tied with Greenville for fifth in the conference standings with two SLIAC games remaining. The Blue Jays fell to 2-21 overall and 1-11 in conference games.

TURNING POINT

In the first six minutes of the game, the lead changed six times. Jonathan Henson scored the first basket of the game before it was promptly answered back by Westminster. The points volley ended with 14:45 left in the half when the Golden Eagles took the lead in the half and held on the rest of the frame.

A 9-0 run, starting with a Caden Bradford free throw, gave the momentum to Spalding. The lead for the Golden Eagles grew as large as 21 after back-to-back Charlie Storm 3-point baskets. Spalding shot well from behind the arc as a team all game. The squad's eight baskets from deep tied for the best performance all season.

Despite carrying a 19-point lead into the second half, and building the lead to 22 with 14:56 left in regulation, the Golden Eagles found themselves on the wrong side of a comeback. An 11-0 run for the Blue Jays cut the Spalding lead to nine. Westminster then took a four-point lead with just over a minute to play. Two made free throws from both Anthony Dillard and Jacoby Johnson made the score 73-all and forced overtime.

The first two Golden Eagle baskets of overtime were 3-pointers courtesy of Bradford and Johnson. The Spalding defense held strong and only allowed the Blue Jays to score four points in overtime en route to the 86-77 Golden Eagle win.

GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES

•    Jacoby Johnson came one rebound short of a triple-double. The sophomore had 13 points to go along with career-high marks in rebounds (9), assists (10), and steals (7).

•    Johnson's 10 assists are the most for any SU player this season.

•    Caden Bradford led Spalding in scoring with a career-high 22 points. It is tied for the third-highest individual scoring output for the Golden Eagles this season.

•    Anthony Dillard and Maxton Campbell also scored in double figures. Dillard had 14 and Campbell had 11.

•    Dillard was a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe.

•    As a team, Spalding forced the second most turnovers of any opponent this season with 22.

•    The Golden Eagles had a 12-3 advantage in second-chance points.

Original source can be found here.