Gillingham, a freshman guard, hit six of his 10 field goal attempts, including three-of-five from beyond the arc, and grabbed nine rebounds in 30 minutes of play for the Blueboys. He was joined in double-figures by teammates Joe Womble with 12, John DeRosa with 11 and by Mitchell Hurliman with 10.
Playing at home, the winners broke out to an early lead and carried a 15-point margin (32-17) into the late stages of the first half before the Red Devils stepped up their play and made it a game. Eureka cut IC’s lead to two at 41-39 with 1:45 to go before Brandon Grimsley swished a pair of three throws to send the Blueboys into the locker room with a four-point lead at the break.
Illinois College regained the momentum early in the second stanza and eventually opened its largest lead of the contest at 72-56 with 5:02 remaining. From that point, the visitors were never able to narrow the gap to less than 10 points.
Eureka’s A.J. Richard led four of his teammates in double-figures with 14 points. Luke Sottos had 12 for the visitors while Clint Rabbe and Matt McComb each chipped in with 11.
The Blueboys shot 48 percent (27-56) and made eight-of-25 from 3-point range while Eureka made 44 percent (30-67) of its shots, including 5-of-16 from long range. On the boards, the hosts posted a 41-35 advantage, with Gillingham’s nine rebounds earning game-high honors. Sottos and McComb has five boards apiece for Eureka.
Both teams showed good ball-handling for a season opener, with IC committing 16 turnovers to 15 for the Red Devils. Gillingham and teammate Brendan Bachman led IC with five assists each.
Illinois College’s next contest comes November 26 when the Blueboys host the ninth annual Bill Merris Classic and welcome Concordia (Ill.), Dominican and MacMurray to the Bruner Center.