South Central Reporter

Beavers Run Away With Senior Day Win

Blackburn basketball ended their regular season on Saturday afternoon against Principia College. Though the Beavers will end up missing the postseason, two seniors were given recognition prior to the game. Tyler Jelks and Chanz Aldridge each played their last game for Blackburn College this afternoon and put on one last performance for fans at Dawes Gymnasium.

1st Half: The Beavers played a well fought and contested first half. Troy Cole Jr. went off and scored 15 points for the Beavers in the half. He was 7-10 on field goals and 1-1 on threes. Cole Jr. was unstoppable against Principia’s defense for a solid run during the half, however the Principia offense was able to match the Beavers scoring runs well. Shemarri Miles finished with eleven points for the Panthers in the first half, while other Principia players tacked on additional points to support. Similarly for the Beavers, Cameron Johnson, Tyler Jelks, and Chanz Aldridge all came in support for Troy Cole Jr., adding additional points for Blackburn in the half. Aldridge and both Johnsons had six in the first half. Cole Jr. was on a double-double watch at halftime, as he also had collected five rebounds in the first half. When the halftime buzzer sounded, the Beavers were leading the Panthers 40-36.

2nd Half: Cole Jr. continued to be dominant in the second half as well. When there was just 6:25 left to play, Cole Jr. had already tallied 22 points, and was the only Beaver in double digits at the time.

Principia had begun the second half with a handful of quick buckets that narrowed the gap to just two points against the Beaver. As the half went on, the Beavers and Panthers continued to exchange shots, and it seemed as if neither team could miss. After a timeout near the 5:00 mark, Principia had tied the game 64-64. Cole Jr. managed to regain the lead for the Beavers on a layup, followed by another from Chanz Aldridge. The Beavers were up 68-64 with 4:24 left to play.

Tyler Jelks went off and knocked down a layup and a three-pointer in consecutive possessions, followed by a steal. As the clock began to wind down, the Beavers were up 75-71 with 1:10 left to play. An offensive foul by the Beavers gave Principia the ball back with 1:04 to play. A layup by Principia made the score 75-73 with 30 seconds to play, forcing a timeout from the Beavers. A foul by Principia with 21 seconds left gave Tyler Jelks two free throws, which he knocked down to make the score 77-73. A prayer three-pointer sent up by Principia with 10 seconds left went off the rim and was rebounded by Blackburn’s Brody Barr, upon which he was fouled. After knocking down both free throws, the Beavers led 79-73 and forced a timeout from the Panthers. Another prayer three was sent up by the Panthers with four seconds left, but it did not fall through, and the Beavers won the game by a final score of 79-73.

The Beavers finished their season with an 8-17 record. Chanz Aldridge finished his career at Blackburn with 1,513 points, the 6th most all-time.

Thank you to all the fans who continued to support Blackburn throughout the season. Be sure to stay tuned for SLIAC awards being announced in the coming weeks.

Original source can be found here