At the very least, the Red Devils have shown the ability to play with the best teams in the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference for the first half. Though they have trailed at the half of the last five games, the Red Devils have been within four points in all of them.
Saturday's match up with NIIC-leading Clarke (13-10, 7-1 NIIC) was no exception. The Crusaders led 20-14 less than nine minutes into the game, but Eureka (4-19, 0-8 NIIC) tied the score at 24 following a three-point play by sophomore Matt McComb. Mike Fredericks tied the game for the fifth time with a bucket in the waning moments of the half only to see Grant Cirks put the visitors back in front 33-31 just before the buzzer.
The second frame featured two more tied scores with the last one coming at 37-37 at the 16:25 mark. At that point, the Crusaders slowly, but surely began building momentum with the play of Sam Murley and Chris Kilburg. The two combined for 25 second half points for Clarke.
The momentum swing reached its crescendo just after the eight minute mark when Murley connected on a three-pointer on back-to-back possessions. Clarke had a healthy 14-point advantage (63-49) by the time the second long ball went through the net. Eureka tried to play catch-up the rest of the way, but was unable to make a large dent in the lead and eventually fell by 17.
Joining Tarpley in double figures for EC was Tim Peffer with 12. He also added five assists. Mark Darnall provided a spark off the bench with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. Eureka led in bench scoring 38-21 and in rebounding 38-32.
Murley had a game-high 19 for Clarke, who posted a 21:6 assist-to-turnover ratio. Demonte Bynum had 14 points with all but two coming before halftime. Grant Cirks added 11 points and nine boards.
Eureka seniors Luke Sottos, Mike Trotter, and Andrew Walton will be honored during the Red Devils next game on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m. NIIC member Rockford College will be the opponent for the final home game of the season.