Jordan with Career High in Tight Finish at Beloit

BELOIT, WI—The Blackburn College Men's Basketball team took on Beloit College Saturday afternoon in a non-conference conference matchup. The Beavers fought hard, but fell short 67-63.

Freshman Evan Jordan with career high contributed 25 points to hard fought battle against the Buccaneers. 

The Beavers opened the game exactly how they wanted: Jordan drilled a three on the opening possession, giving Blackburn an early 3–0 lead. However, turnovers and second-chance points allowed Beloit to counter. The Beavers began to settle in as the half progressed. Jordan scored in multiple ways — from beyond the arc, in transition, and on drives. His first half included five made threes, each arriving at key moments when the Beavers needed to halt Beloit's momentum.

Junior Payton Cook also gave Blackburn a boost around the rim. He created extra possessions with offensive rebounds, converted a pair of tip-ins, and finished the half with a strong buzzer-beating layup off a feed from Jordan to cut the deficit to eight.

When Beloit pushed the lead to eight and then ten midway through the half, Blackburn punched back. Jordan sparked a crucial run, knocking down threes on back-to-back possessions — first from the left wing and then a deep one assisted by Freshman Jaylen Jeter — pulling the Beavers within 31–29. Jeter added a strong drive of his own earlier, and Junior Bradyn Pieper provided effective minutes at the line, going 2-for-3. Blackburn headed into the breakdown 41–33.

The Beavers struck first in the second half when Jeter drilled a three at 18:43, trimming the Beloit lead to 41–36 and setting the tone for a more aggressive Blackburn attack. Defensively, the Beavers made immediate adjustments — Cook blocked Beloit's Semaj Roy at the rim, and the team forced multiple Beloit misses in the paint. The Beavers continued pressing. At 15:00, Senior Nick Cook sliced inside for a layup, pulling Blackburn back within 43–38. After Beloit regained separation, Jeter fueled another spark—forcing a steal and scoring a fast-break layup at 12:19 to bring it to 47–40. With the Beavers trailing 56–45 at 9:03, Jordan hit a three throw. Then, after Payton Cook grabbed an offensive board off Jordan's missed second attempt, Jordan buried a three to cut the lead to 56–48. Two minutes later, Jordan struck again from deep at 6:30, pulling Blackburn back within 58–51 and forcing Beloit to burn a timeout.

Senior Darius Duff buried a left-wing three at 4:18, trimming the deficit to 61–56. Cook then converted two free throws at 1:01 after stealing the ball, narrowing the gap to 65–61 with a minute left. Moments later, Duff found Payton Cook for a thunderous dunk at 3:48, slicing the deficit to 61–58, the closest Blackburn had been since the opening minutes.

With 12 seconds remaining, Jordan slashed to the rim for a clutch layup, bringing Blackburn within 65–63. The Beavers were within one possession. Beloit converted two final free throws with eight seconds left, making it 67–63. Jordan's last three-point attempt at :02 missed long, sealing Beloit's 67–63 win.

The Beavers open up conference play this Tuesday at Eureka with a 7:30pm tip off.