ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Spalding University men's basketball team won a nail biter over MacMurray, 72-71, in the SLIAC tournament semifinals Friday night in St. Louis. With the win, Spalding advances to the championship game Saturday to play the No. 4 seed Fontbonne. This marks the third consecutive season the Golden Eagles have played for the SLIAC championship, beating Eureka in 2012 and falling to Webster 2013.
Brandon Gabriel led the Eagles with 24 points (8-13 FG), six rebounds and five assists.
Brandon Goeing scored 17 points, connecting on 3-of-6 three point field goals.
Renaldo Moore added 14 points and
Jovante Lavender scored 10 points off the bench.
The Highlanders started hot, racing out to a quick 8-1 lead, but Spalding fought back, using a trio of three-pointers to tie the game at 16 with 13:13 left in the first half. The Eagles took their first lead of the game on a jumper by Gabriel with nine minutes until the break, but MacMurray went on another run that put them up 39-32 late in the period. The Eagles ended the half on an 8-3 run to make it 42-40 at the half.
After trading baskets for the first few possessions of the second half, Spalding connected on three more three-pointers during an 11-0 run that put them ahead 53-46 with 14 minutes left in the game. The Highlanders responded with a 13-2 run to go back ahead, giving them a lead they would not relinquish until the final minutes of the game. The Golden Eagles cut a six point deficit down to two trailing 71-69 with just under 1:30 to play when
Brandon Goeing caught a pass from
Brandon Gabriel, rose up from the left wing and found the bottom of the net for the game winner. The Highlanders James Williams' three-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the front of the rim and the Eagles advanced.
Spalding will play for their second SLIAC tournament championship and an NCAA tournament berth Saturday at 8:00 p.m. EST.