Eureka Falls to No. 5 WashU in Lopata Classic Opener

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Eureka men's basketball team dropped its opening-round matchup of the 41st Annual Lopata Classic on Friday evening, falling 100-53 to No. 5 WashU.

WashU opened the game on a 10-2 run to gain an early lead. After a layup by Micah Bruer (Washington, Ill./Washington Community) trimmed the deficit to 12-6, the Bears countered with a decisive 16-0 stretch to push the margin to 28-6. Eureka answered with a 7-0 burst of its own, highlighted by a three from Ben Carter (Morton, Ill./Morton), but WashU continued to pull away and carried a 55-25 advantage into halftime.

The Bears kept their momentum after the break, extending their lead while shooting 53.7 percent from the field and holding Eureka to 34.4 percent on the night. A balanced WashU attack saw 16 different players score as the Bears advanced to the championship game.

Bruer and Jaxson Provost (Kankakee, Ill./Bishop McNamara) led Eureka with 10 points apiece, while Carter added six points and a team-high seven rebounds. Jacob Gonzalez (Los Angeles, Calif./Chatsworth Charter) chipped in six points, and Blake Logsdon (Meridian, Idaho/Mountain View) tallied two points and four rebounds off the bench.

UP NEXT

Eureka (1-2) returns to action on Saturday at noon, taking on UW-Whitewater in the Lopata Classic consolation game.