Red Devils Celebrate Seniors with 71-54 Win Over Principia

EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka men's basketball team celebrated Senior Night with a 71-54 victory over Principia in its home finale Tuesday evening.

Prior to tipoff, Eureka recognized its 12 seniors for their dedication and contributions to the program. The seniors honored were Colin DeLaere (Pekin, Ill./Pekin Community), Dylan Logsdon (Meridian, Idaho/Mountain View), Joel Ewald (Roscommon, Mich./Roscommon), Blake Logsdon (Meridian, Idaho/Mountain View), Ben Carter (Morton, Ill./Morton), Jacob Gonzalez (Los Angeles, Calif./Chatsworth Charter), Damuzha Moore (Champaign, Ill./Urbana), Nicholaus Harris-Huntley (Milwaukee, Wis./Marquette), Amare Brokemond (Gary, Ind./Morton), Jonah Lauff (Pana, Ill./Pana), Andrew Coker (Washington, Ill./Washington Community), and Max Richardson (LaHarpe, Ill./Illini West). The night also marked a significant milestone for Carter, who was making his 100th career appearance as a Red Devil.

Throughout the night, the Eureka High School band performed and helped create a lively atmosphere inside the Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena, which made for a very special Senior Night. The Eureka College Athletic Department extends its appreciation to the local band for allowing the campus and surrounding community to enjoy such a talented group.

Eureka shook off an early 4-0 deficit in the game as Dylan Logsdon's jumper just over two minutes in ignited a 6-0 run and forced a Principia timeout with the Red Devils ahead 6-4. The Panthers answered to take a 12-7 lead, their largest of the night, but Eureka responded with a decisive 12-0 run fueled by four consecutive 3-pointers. Carter knocked down two from beyond the arc, while Jonah Lauff and Jaxson Provost (Kankakee, Ill./Bishop McNamara) each added one to give Eureka a 19-12 advantage.

Carter continued his strong first half with two more 3-pointers, finishing with four triples before the break to help extend the lead to 25-17. Richardson added a layup to push the margin to double digits, and Moore and Gonzalez each scored late to send the Red Devils into halftime with a 34-19 lead.

Principia came out of the locker room with energy and trimmed the deficit to 40-31. Provost responded with a personal 5-0 run to restore a 14-point cushion. The Panthers continued to chip away and cut the margin to 10 with just under 12 minutes remaining, but back-to-back baskets from Provost and Micah Bruer (Washington, Ill./Washington Community) pushed the lead back to 51-37.

After another Principia surge brought the game within 10, Bruer and Provost sparked a 6-0 run to regain control. The Panthers made one final push, using a 5-0 run to pull within single digits with just over three minutes to play, but Eureka answered with a 5-0 stretch of its own to build a 14-point lead and put the game away. Brokemond capped the scoring with a late jumper to give the Red Devils their largest advantage of the night at 71-54.

Provost led Eureka with 20 points, five assists, and three steals. Carter finished with 12 points and six rebounds in his milestone appearance, while Coker added four points, eight rebounds, and four assists. The seniors combined for 45 of the team's 71 points in their final home game.

UP NEXT

Eureka closes out the regular season on Saturday at Greenville at 3 p.m. The Red Devils won the first meeting between the teams, 130-125, on Jan. 26.