Red Devils’ Rally Falls Short in Season Finale at Greenville

GREENVILLE, Ill. — The Eureka men's basketball team wrapped up its season Saturday afternoon, but a spirited comeback bid came up short in a 121-113 defeat at Greenville.

Max Richardson (LaHarpe, Ill./Illini West) set the tone early, scoring Eureka's first four points to give the Red Devils a 4-2 lead. Greenville briefly moved in front before Jaxson Provost (Kankakee, Ill./Bishop McNamara) answered with a 3-pointer to knot the score at 8-8.

The Panthers seized control with an 18-1 run to open a 26-9 advantage. Back-to-back buckets from Micah Bruer (Washington, Ill./Washington Community) and Colin DeLaere (Pekin, Ill./Pekin Community) trimmed the deficit to 13, and a later 7-0 run, fueled by five points from Damuzha Moore (Champaign, Ill./Urbana), cut the gap to 28-20.

Greenville stretched its lead to as many as 24 points, taking a 61-37 advantage with just over three minutes remaining in the first half. Eureka responded by outscoring the Panthers 13-6 over the final stretch of the half to pull within 67-50 at the break.

The Red Devils came out strong in the second half. A layup by Andrew Coker (Washington, Ill./Washington Community) cut the deficit to 12, and despite Greenville pushing its lead back to 21, Eureka continued to fight. A 7-0 run capped by a Provost 3-pointer made it 87-73. Jacob Gonzalez (Los Angeles, Calif./Chatsworth Charter) added a layup following a Greenville free throw, and a basket by Nolan Kerr (Macomb, Ill./Macomb) helped trim the margin to 12.

Kerr's bucket ignited another 7-0 surge, as layups from Moore and Gonzalez brought Eureka within seven at 89-82. The Panthers again built a double-digit lead, but the Red Devils answered. A Gonzalez layup and three free throws from Provost narrowed the gap to 98-93 with just over nine minutes to play.

Greenville extended its advantage to 112-99, but Eureka mounted one final charge. An 11-1 run, sparked by Moore and Richardson, brought the Red Devils within three after Bruer knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 113-110 with under three minutes remaining.

Greenville responded with a 3-pointer of its own and held off the late push to secure the 121-113 victory.

Provost led Eureka with 28 points and four assists. Richardson finished with a career-high 20 points and six rebounds. Bruer totaled 16 points, while Moore added 15 points and six rebounds. Gonzalez recorded 14 points and five assists. DeLaere chipped in three points and a career-high nine rebounds.

Ten seniors made their final appearance in a Red Devil uniform during the contest: Colin DeLaere, Dylan Logsdon (Meridian, Idaho/Mountain View), Joel Ewald (Roscommon, Mich./Roscommon), Blake Logsdon (Meridian, Idaho/Mountain View), Ben Carter (Morton, Ill./Morton), Jacob Gonzalez, Damuzha Moore, Jonah Lauff (Pana, Ill./Pana), Andrew Coker, and Max Richardson.

Eureka concludes the season at 6-19 overall and 5-11 in SLIAC play in Chip Wilde's 19th season leading the Red Devils.