Louisville, KY 2/12/2022- The Westminster College men's basketball traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, looking for a road conference victory against the Spalding University Golden Eagles. A win would put them in a virtual tie for fifth place in the SLIAC with Spalding. Those dreams got shattered as they went down in defeat 62-47. The loss leaves them at 4-8 in the conference and 8-15 overall on the season.
The Blue Jays had an off-shooting day with nobody scoring in double figures. They were down in the first half, with 4:37 remaining, the Golden Eagles had a seventeen-point lead on the Blue Jay. Senior guard Landon Harrison (Jefferson City, Mo. / Helias) gave the Blue Jays a spark of energy by getting a steal. Emil Spriggs (Kansas City, MO / Lee's Summitt North) cashed in the turnover with a layup on the other end. Sharpshooter Ethan Thompson (Columbia, Mo. / Hallsville) would hit two three-pointers near the end of the half to bring the Blue Jays within eight points with a minute left in the half. Spalding would score in the paint with thirty seconds left, putting them back up ten points. Thompson got a good look from three at the buzzer, but it did not fall. The Blue Jays had momentum heading into halftime, trailing 32-22.
The Golden Eagles went on an 8-1 run coming out of the break. Putting the Blue Jays down seventeen points once more. This tied the largest lead of the game. The Jays refused to lie down. Jaxon Althaus (Oak Grove, Mo. / Oak Grove) scored a fast break layup and got fouled on the shot. He would make the free throw, scoring three the old-fashioned way. On the next possession, Makygh Galbreath (Fulton, Mo. / Fulton) got a steal that led to Tre Kempker (Eugene, Mo. / Eugene) drawing a shooting foul. He would make both free throws. After a Golden Eagles miss, Althaus would draw another foul on Spalding. After he made both made free throws, the Blue Jays cut it to ten points once more with 15:00 left to go in the game with a score of 40-30. Westminster would hover around that ten-point margin for the rest of the game. Ultimately, the game clock would strike zero with the Blue Jays going down in defeat 62-47.
The Blue Jays got to the line throughout and got Spalding in foul trouble, going 17 for 26 from the charity stripe. Westminster would be ice cold from the field, shooting 13 for 43 on the day. Althaus and Harrison led the team with nine points each. Althaus would also have a team-high six rebounds.
The Westminster men's basketball team return home and look to bounce back when they play again on Wednesday, February 16th. They will host the Blackburn College Beavers. It will be senior night, with the game scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
