EUREKA, Ill. - Westminster men's basketball suffered from scoring woes in the loss to Eureka, 91-59.
The Blue Jays fall to 14-9 overall and 10-6 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, dropping to third place.
"Once again, Eureka played very well against us," said Westminster Head Coach Matt Mitchell. "We were outshot and out-worked tonight."
The scoring was slow for both teams to start the game, with just 12 total points scored after five minutes of play, Westminster down 8-4.
Tanner Cochran hit six of Westminster's first eight points to trade baskets with the Red Devils, down just 10-8 at the 13:34 mark. With 12:14 remaining in the half, Steven Brandt hit a layup to give the Blue Jays their first lead of the game at 14-13. That started a Westminster 7-0 on baskets form Casey McCollum and Kobe Wands.
Eureka answered with a 16-0 run that blew the game open for Eureka. The scoring drought from the Blue Jays lasted almost five minutes until Stu Hollandsworth hit a layup with 5:54 to play in the half. Westminster went on another scoring drought of over two minutes until Kobe Wands hit a three-pointer with 3:13 remaining. Collin Caywood hit a three-pointer and Hollandsworth added four more points to close out the half, with Westminster down 42-31.
Hollandsworth and Cochran combined for 10 points to open the second half, putting Westminster back within single digits to make the game 46-41. A Red Devil layup at the 13:54 mark was only just the second field goal from Eureka in the second half, but that started a 15-1 Eureka run to make the score 61-42.
Eureka continued to go on small runs throughout the game to continue to increase their lead while the Blue Jays struggled to put together a run of their own. To end the game, Westminster went on another five-minute scoring drought. McCollum and Brandt hit back-to-bakc threes before the buzzer went out to make the final score 91-59.
"We have a difficult time finding ways to score when we don't shoot well," said Mitchell. "Our preparation was hampered by some unforseen circumstances and we did not respond well to adversity."
Kobe Wands led the Blue Jays with 14 points. Hollandsworth added 13 points while Cochran recorded 10.
"The final week of the season should be very exciting," said Mitchell.
Westminster stay on the road to face MacMurray Wednesday at 8 p.m.