ELSAH, Ill. - Westminster College sophomore guard Landon Harrison responded with 26 of his game-high 35 points in the second half and the Blue Jays stopped a two-game SLIAC losing streak by holding off Principia College 93-87 on Tuesday night.
Harrison connected on 10-of-18 shots - including 4-of-8 from 3-point range - and was 11-of-12 from the free-throw line as Westminster improved to 8-11 overall and 7-5 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Blue Jays completed a season sweep of Principia (3-16, 2-11).
Westminster was only up 41-38 at halftime, but widened that advantage to 69-54 on freshman forward Will Sullentrop's layup with 9 minutes, 53 seconds left in the game. The Panthers then staged a furious rally, pulling within 86-82 with 1:01 to go.
The Blue Jays, though, were able to seal the win by hitting 7-of-10 free throws in the final :57.
Sophomore forward Jaxon Althaus complemented Harrison's performance with a 30-point outburst, making 11-of-19 shots and knocking down 3-of-5 3s. Sophomore guard Ethan Thompson added 10 points as Westminster shot 45 percent (31-of-69) overall and 42 percent (13-of-31) from behind the arc.
Harrison finished off a double-double by pulling down 10 rebounds as the Blue Jays were edged on the boards 39-36.
Payton Sellers supplied 19 points to pace five players in double figures for Principia, which shot 50 percent (33-of-66) from the field. AJ Byrd logged 17 points, Trevaughn Goodman provided 15, Kevin Wingert contributed 12 and Clark Davidson had 10.
Westminster travels to Blackburn (Ill.) College for a SLIAC contest at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Blue Jays outlasted Blackburn 79-73 on Jan. 8 in Fulton.