The Dawes Gym was packed, the atmosphere was electric, and the conditions were right for the upset of the season as the MacMurray College Highlanders entered the Beaver Dome Thursday evening.  The Blackburn College Men’s Basketball Team had the first place Highlanders on the ropes early on, but could not stop the devastating post attack led by Brady Slagle.  MacMurray entered the evening with a record of 11-1, tying them with Spalding University for first place in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Behind the rambunctious student section, the Beavers had fought to lead the contest 25-23 with five minutes remaining in the first half.  Turnovers plagued Blackburn late in the first half, however, which allowed MacMurray an opportunity to fight back.  MacMurray executed an offensive onslaught down in the paint to take a 37-30 lead to end the half.

The Highlanders came out in the second half still riding the momentum from the previous half to orchestrate a 10-4 run.  Yet Blackburn continued to fight back.  Down by twelve, the Beavers went on an 18-11 run, narrowing the deficit to five with 3:05 remaining in the game. With Mac up 72-67 Blackburn was forced to put the Highlanders on the free-throw line however, which gave them the opportunity to put the game out of reach.  MacMurray went 8-8 in the remaining three minutes and went on to win the game 91-74.

Blackburn struggled to defend in the post, allowing the 6’6 Brady Slagle to accumulate a game-high 28 points.  For the Beavers, Chris Davis led the team with 20 points while Tommy Ulinski added 15 points and a perfect 7-7 performance from the charity stripe.  Blackburn now holds a record of 1-18 and will face the Greenville College Panthers this Saturday at 3:00 pm.