Eureka Stopped at Spalding, 58-43

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Reigning St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week DeWhon McAfee scored 14 points, one of three Golden Eagles to score in double-figures, to lead Spalding to a 58-43 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Eureka College, Wednesday night in Louisville, Ky.  Austin Nicholas (Brownsburg, Ind./Manitou Springs H.S./Lamar) paced the Red Devils with nine points.

The first half featured one tie and five lead changes.  Neither squad was able to take more than a two-possession lead until the Golden Eagles (7-6, 4-1 SLIAC) scored five straight points for a 24-15 advantage with 2:21 left in the half.  Eureka (0-13, 0-6 SLIAC) sophomore point guard Blake Chapman (Serena, Ill./Serena H.S.) knocked down his only basket of the game on the ensuing possession, igniting a 7-2 Eureka run to close the half with the visitors trailing, 26-22.  Spalding went just 1-for-8 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes, while the Red Devils were unable to make a single trip to the free throw line.

Spalding scored the first nine points of the second half, six coming from McAfee, for a comfortable 37-22 lead with 14:15 left in the game.  The Red Devils were unable to trim their deficit back to single-digits until freshman guard Trevor Teal (Delavan, Ill./Delavan H.S.) capped an 8-1 Eureka run with his first career basket with 4:09 left to bring the Red Devils within nine, 48-39.  The Golden Eagles scored on their next trip down the floor and later withstood back-to-back buckets from Nicholas to earn the 15-point league victory.

In addition to his team-high nine points, Nicholas added six rebounds, four assists and four steals in 31 minutes.  Senior guard Craig Black (Sullivan, Ill./Sullivan H.S.) scored eight points, while senior forward Josh Wagner (Roanoke, Ill./Roanoke-Benson H.S./Carl Sandburg) chipped in with seven points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Jametrius Brasher came off the bench for 14 points to share game-high scoring honors with McAfee.  Cody Cutsinger had 10 points to give the Golden Eagles three double-digit scorers.  The victory was Spalding's fourth straight in league play.

The Red Devils will return home this Saturday to host SLIAC foe MacMurray at 3 p.m.