Eutectics pound the glass to earn 4th straight W to start the year

MOBERLY, MO – An 82-71 triumph over the Central Christian College of the Bible Saints sent the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy to their best start in over 20 years.

The Eutectics and Saints see-sawed the lead back and forth early until the Purple and Gold went on a big run in the middle of the first half to take command of the game. 7:06 into the half, a driving layup by Gregg Boudreaux put CCCB on top 18-14. UHSP would embark on a 15-0 run that elapsed 5:13 and came to a close when Boudreaux buried a pull-up three with 7:42 left in the half as UHSP led 29-18. The Eutectics were finished there taking control of the first half as they immediately went on an 11-6 run capped by a reverse layup from Sean Paradise Jr. to lead 40-28 with 3:54 left. But the Saints made a run just before the half. The Eutectics went scoreless over the ensuing 3:51 as Central Christian cut the deficit to six at 40-34. Yigit Ekinci ended the scoreless drought with a straight-away three-ball with :02.6 left in the half as UHSP led 43-34 at the half.

The second half saw the margin hang around ten for the first ten minutes of the half. With 9:36 left, Quincy James, Jr. knocked down a triple to cut the margin to eight at 59-51. But UHSP stiffened as Jasmin Suvalija and Ahian Barnett hit back-to-back three to reclaim a 65-51 advantage. With 7:26 to go, it was 66-54 when the Saints went cold offensively. Central Christian scored just two points over the next 4:42 and when Tristan Brand converted a layup to make it 75-58, the Saints were short on time with just 2:48 left and the Eutectics appeared home free. With 1:06 left, UHSP led 76-63 but the Saints nailed a corner three and stole the ensuing in-bounds pass with James Jr. throwing down a two-handed dunk to make it an eight-point game at 76-68. The Eutectics would again fumble the in-bounds pass and CCCB got another possession. After a timeout, Brand hit a triple from the right wing and all of a sudden it was a 76-71 game with :48.3 left and the Eutectics undefeated start very much being challenged. Now facing frantic pressure, the Eutectics got the ball into the front court before Suvalija was fouled with :31.5 left. Suvalija would split the free throws and the Saints would come down and miss a triple that would have cut the deficit to three and one possession, but instead it led to another trip to the foul line for UHSP. This time Ekinci would convert both free throws and the Eutectics would hang on to claim their fourth straight win.

Ahian Barnett led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Yigit Ekinci would record a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds. Meanwhile, Central Christian College of the Bible put four players in double-digits led by Trey Palmer who had 16 points while Quincy James Jr. added 15 and six boards. The Eutectics pulled down 52 rebounds to 42 by CCCB. The 52 rebounds are the sixth most in a single game in UHSP history. Both teams did a remarkable job hanging onto the ball as the game featured just 18 total turnovers with the Saints having just eight. That led to each team unloading a small armada of shots. The Eutectics went 31-for-76 (40.8%) while CCCB was 27-of-74 (36.5%). After shooting just a single foul shot in the first half, UHSP got to the line 19 times in the second half, making a dozen free throws in the game. CCCB was 7-of-17 at the line.

With the win, the Eutectics surpass the start to the year from the 2011-12 team that also won their first three games but suffered their first loss in their fourth game falling to Blackburn. It will be another St. Louis-area club in town for UHSP's next contest when they host Fontbonne (0-1) on Monday night at 7:00pm. The Griffins fell to Harris-Stowe 110-102 this past Monday and play two games this weekend before their matchup with the Eutectics. After that, UHSP plays their first game in American Midwest Conference play when they visit Crowley's Ridge (1-2) next Thursday before facing early-season AMC frontrunner Central Baptist (5-1) who dropped their first game of the season tonight in double-overtime falling 91-89 to Freed-Hardeman.