Red Devils Trade Runs with Blackburn in 102-90 Defeat

CARLINVILLE, Ill. – The Eureka men's basketball team put together multiple strong pushes but could not overcome a late surge as the Red Devils fell 102-90 at Blackburn on Saturday afternoon.

Eureka came out sharp offensively, jumping to an early 11-6 lead as Andrew Coker (Washington, Ill./Washington Community) and Jaxson Provost (Kankakee, Ill./Bishop McNamara) combined for all 11 points in the opening minutes. Blackburn answered after the first media timeout, evening the score at 13-13 before taking its first lead of the game at 16-14 on a three-pointer. That basket sparked an 11-0 Beavers run, giving Blackburn a 24-14 advantage.

The Beavers continued to build momentum, extending the lead to 31-19, but Eureka responded with a 10-0 run to pull within one possession. Jonah Lauff (Pana, Ill./Pana) scored six points during the surge, while Jacob Gonzalez (Los Angeles, Calif./Chatsworth Charter) added four to cut the deficit to 31-29. Blackburn, however, held onto its lead the rest of the half and carried a 54-43 advantage into the break.

Out of halftime, Blackburn extended its lead to 64-48, its largest margin of the night. Eureka answered once again with a 6-0 spurt, highlighted by three free throws from Max Richardson (LaHarpe, Ill./Illini West) and a three from Provost to make it 64-54. After Blackburn pushed the lead back to 66-54 at the under-16 media timeout, Provost scored back-to-back buckets to trim the deficit to 66-59.

Eureka continued to chip away, cutting the score to 68-64 following a layup by Coker and three free throws from Provost. After a Blackburn free throw, Provost knocked down a three to make it a one-possession game at 69-67. Micah Bruer (Washington, Ill./Washington Community) followed with a pair of free throws to tie the game at 69-69.

Provost then buried another three to give Eureka a 72-71 lead, its first since the opening five minutes. The lead was short-lived, however, as Blackburn responded with a 7-0 run to go back in front 78-72. Eureka fought back again, using an and-one from Gonzalez and a layup by Provost to pull within one at 78-77.

Blackburn extended the lead to 85-79 with under six minutes remaining, but the Red Devils refused to go away. Richardson scored on a layup and Bruer added two free throws to cut the deficit to 85-83 with 4:31 left. Blackburn closed the game with a decisive 13-0 run over the final minutes, pulling away for a 102-90 victory.

Provost led all scorers with 28 points, shooting 8-of-13 from the field, 4-of-4 from three, and 8-of-10 from the free throw line, while adding three assists and two steals. Coker followed with 16 points on an efficient 7-of-9 shooting night and added five rebounds. Lauff provided a strong spark off the bench with 11 points, knocking down three triples, while Ben Carter (Morton, Ill./Morton) and Richardson each chipped in 10 points, with Carter also pulling down a team-high nine rebounds. Bruer contributed six points, five assists, and two steals, and Gonzalez added seven points and a steal off the bench.

UP NEXT

Eureka returns home on Thursday to host Mississippi University for Women at 7:30 p.m. The Owls enter the contest off to a strong 3-1 start in SLIAC play.