Written and Media by Miguel Fabela.
The Greenville College Men’s Basketball Team picked up two huge road victories this past week to put them in prime position for a conference championship.
The Panthers moved over the .500 mark for the first time this season with a 115-93 win over Principia to keep pace with MacMurray atop the SLIAC standings.
Greenville took a 55-42 lead heading to halftime on the strength of 18 Michael Hohm points.
Hohm led Greenville’s offensive unit and finished with 25 points. Tim Daniel produced 15 points and DeAndre Brown added 14 points. Shane Smith and Jamal Daniels came off the bench to contribute 12 points each, and Daniel Saeli totaled 11 points and five assists on the night to put six GC players in double figures. Brown led the defense with four steals.
The team came up with a clutch 116-112 road win at Iowa Wesleyan on Wednesday night to secure first place as they earned no worse than a tie for the regular season SLIAC championship after MaMurray lost.
Greenville definitely showed up offensively featuring seven players with double digit scoring. This led the way for the team’s second win over Iowa Wesleyan this season.
Greenville led 63-56 going into halftime, but held on for the four point victory in a nip-and-tuck battle that featured 16 tied and ten lead changes.
Shane Smith came off the bench to put 21 points on the board for Greenville, including a few monstrous dunks. He was accompanied by teammate Kenny Greene with 17 points to offer.
Michael Hohm led the starters with 18 points. Tim Daniel produced 14 points, Andrew Scott had 12 points, and both Daniel Saeli and DeAndre Brown chipped in 11 points.
Scott led the Panthers on the boards with a double-double on the night with 11 rebounds, and Smith and Greene added up for three steals, leading a defense that forced 21 turnovers.
The Panthers (13-11, 12-5 SLIAC) head into Saturday’s game against Eureka (9-8 SLIAC) with huge conference tournament implications. With a win over Eureka or a loss by MacMurray, GC will clinch the Panthers’ second outright league championship along with the opportunity to host the SLIAC tournament on Feb. 25 and 27.
