Elijah King fuels St. Joe's sixth straight 82-62 NIC win at Adams

Junior guard Elijah King erupted off the bench for 27 points and surpassed the 1,000-career-point mark as South Bend Saint Joseph's rolled to an 82-62 Northern Indiana Conference victory at Adams' Hadaway Shack Thursday night. The win extended the Huskies' streak to six and left St. Joe unbeaten in NIC play, an important statement in a tightly packed conference.

"Definitely," King responded when asked whether he was motivated by not starting. "I knew my teammates needed me tonight, and they deserve nothing but my best. We knew Adams was a good team. We knew we needed to bring nothing but our best tonight. We were aggressive and got to the free-throw line. [...]"

King and senior Nick Shrewsberry combined for 51 points, with Shrewsberry supplying an early spark. Shrewsberry canned 10 first-quarter points, including three treys, and accounted for 24 points overall by arithmetic deduction from the combined total. King added seven points in the third as St. Joe built a lead that Adams could not overcome.

Adams senior Jarvis Tolbert produced a "simply sensational effort," leading all scorers with 32 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. The 6-3 guard poured in 13 points in the second quarter to keep the Eagles within striking distance at halftime, but Adams could not match St. Joe down the stretch.

St. Joe led 21-16 after one and pushed the margin to 36-25 at the break. The third quarter closed with St. Joe ahead 60-52, but the decisive stretch came in the fourth as the Huskies outscored Adams 22-10 to finish the 20-point victory. The late surge showcased St. Joe's depth and ability to close games when its veterans and young contributors both deliver.

The result leaves Saint Joseph's 13-4 overall and 4-0 in NIC play; Adams fell to 10-5 and 1-3 in the conference and has now dropped five straight. St. Joe enters the next week carrying the credentials of a Class 4A No. 14 program and last year's Class 3A state champion, a pedigree that matters as the NIC race tightens.

League context sharpened Thursday as well: Penn posted a 55-48 win at Marian to move to 13-3 and 4-0 in the NIC, with sophomore Caleb Coolman contributing 25 points and 11 rebounds while coach Barak Coolman notched career win No. 300. That sets up a major conference clash Tuesday night when Penn visits St. Joe, a meeting that will further define bragging rights in the loaded league.

For St. Joe, King's milestone and the Huskies' balanced scoring provide momentum heading into that showdown; for Adams, Tolbert's performance is a reminder the Eagles have firepower but must find stops and secondary scoring to snap their skid. Photo: Portrait of Scott Davidson.