Red Devils Fall to Westminster in SLIAC Play

EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka men's basketball team fell 96-79 to Westminster on Saturday at home, evening its SLIAC record at 1-1.

Eureka opened the contest with a strong start, racing out to a 4-0 lead on a jumper from Andrew Coker (Washington, Ill./Washington Community) and a pair of free throws from Jaxson Provost (Kankakee, Ill./Bishop McNamara). Westminster answered to tie the game at 6-6 before a Coker three-pointer restored the lead for the Red Devils. Micah Bruer (Washington, Ill./Washington Community) later connected from deep to give Eureka a 12-9 advantage.

After Westminster briefly swung momentum with a 6-0 run, Eureka responded. A layup from Max Richardson (LaHarpe, Ill./Illini West) and a three by Ben Carter (Morton, Ill./Morton) put the Red Devils back in front, 17-15. Following another tie, Eureka built its largest lead of the afternoon at 22-17 after a free throw from Colin DeLaere (Pekin, Ill./Pekin Community), a jumper from Provost, and a pair of free throws by Provost. DeLaere later finished inside to make it 24-19 with 11:29 remaining in the first half.

Westminster answered with another run to regain the lead, but Eureka continued to trade punches. Jonah Lauff (Pana, Ill./Pana) knocked down a three with 6:28 left in the half to give Eureka a 31-30 edge. The visitors responded once more, closing the half on a 10-3 run to take a 48-40 lead into the break.

Momentum carried over into the second half for Westminster, which opened with a 5-0 spurt to extend the lead to 53-40. The Blue Jays pushed the margin to 57-42 before Eureka mounted a response. Carter drained a three and Jacob Gonzalez (Los Angeles, Calif./Chatsworth Charter) followed with a layup to trim the deficit to 57-47. Carter hit another triple out of the media timeout, and Nicholaus Harris-Huntley (Milwaukee, Wis./Marquette) converted a pair of free throws to pull Eureka within five at 57-52 and energize the home crowd.

However, that would be as close as the Red Devils would get. Westminster countered with a decisive 10-0 run and later added another 7-0 stretch following a three-point play from Provost, extending the lead to 74-55. The visitors maintained control down the stretch to secure the 96-79 win.

Provost paced the Red Devils with 13 points, while Carter chipped in 11 points and four assists. Coker, Bruer, and Gonzalez all reached double figures with 10, 11, and 10 points, respectively. Coker led Eureka on the glass with seven rebounds, and Provost added six rebounds of his own.

UP NEXT

Eureka goes on the road for a matchup against Division I SIU Edwardsville on Sunday, Dec. 14.