Davis, Red Devils Rally Past Spalding, 87-84
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Eureka College junior guard Kendall Davis (Peoria, Ill./Limestone H.S./Illinois Central) hit a go-ahead jumper with 10 seconds remaining, his ninth field goal of the second half, to help the Red Devils erase a 14-point second-half deficit and defeat Spalding, 87-84, Saturday afternoon in Louisville, Ky.
Davis scored 10 consecutive points for the Red Devils in the final 68 seconds, including the game-winning basket.
Eureka trailed 82-73 with just 1:15 remaining before closing the contest on a 14-2 run. Davis started the rally with a 3-pointer at the 1:08 mark. After a foul and two missed SU free throws, Davis connected again from beyond the arc to slash the EC deficit to 82-79 with 45 seconds left.
Spalding's Keith Wallace split two foul shots on the ensuing trip, allowing Eureka to claw closer (83-81) on two free throws from Davis with 29 seconds left. Another EC foul gave two free throws to SU's James Turner, who split the foul shots and left Eureka within a single possession. Davis took advantage, scoring again for an 84-83 deficit with 17 seconds left.
Turner missed two more free throws after being fouled with 16 seconds left, allowing Davis to give the Red Devils an 85-84 lead on his basket with 10 seconds to play. The hosts turned the ball over on their next possession, allowing EC to get two more free throws from sophomore Hank Thomas (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods H.S.) with less than a second remaining. Spalding's desperation heave to tie the game was off the mark, giving the Red Devils an 87-84 win.
In all, the Golden Eagles went 2-for-8 from the foul line in the final 53 seconds and were held without a field goal for the final 2:17.
The late push was Eureka's second rally of the period. SU led 58-44 with 13:16 remaining, but Eureka responded with a 19-4 burst to claim a 63-62 lead after two free throws from sophomore guard Shea Feehan (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame H.S.) at the 6:35 mark of the half. The Golden Eagles pushed their lead back to nine, 82-73, before Davis and the Red Devils rallied to win the game.
Davis scored 26 points on 9-for-15 shooting and a 4-for-5 performance from 3-point range. Feehan poured in 27 points and hauled down seven rebounds. Thomas logged five assists.
Nick Trisko led the Golden Eagles with 22 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.
Eureka is now 6-1 overall to match the program's best seven-game start since 1993-94. Saturday's win was Eureka's first in eight tries against SU since the Golden Eagles joined the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference prior to the 2009-10 season.
Eureka will return to Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena next Saturday for a 3 p.m. SLIAC game against Principia.