EIU Men, Women Claim Basketball Openers

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois men’s basketball opened the 2016-17 season on a high note as the Panthers rolled to a 83-41 win over Saint Francis (Ill.) in the season opener Friday night at Lantz Arena.  EIU had 12 players score in double figures led by Demetrius McReynolds with 18 as they shot 55 percent in the win.
 
With EIU leading 40-22 at the half McReynolds opened the second half with seven straight points as he was 7-of-8  from the floor hitting 2-of-3 from 3-point range.  McReynolds individual run pushed the Panthers lead to 20 points as they would eventually build the lead to 44 points with 3:43 left in the game on a three point play by Joe Kuligoski.
 
Muusa Dama set the tone on the defensive end of the floor off the opening tip as he picked up one of his four blocks on a lay-up attempt by Landus Anderson after the Fighting Saints won the opening tip.  Patrick Muldoon hit the first bucket for EIU.  The two teams would trade baskets before Cornell Johnston drained a 3-pointer to open a quick 9-2 run for the Panthers capped by a Montell Goodwin 3-pointer.  EIU ended the first half 3-of-6 from 3-point range and shot 8-of-17 from beyond the arc for the game.
 
Casey Teson gave the Panthers a double figure lead with a jumper at 11:26 that made it 20-10.  USF chipped away at the first half lead closing to seven points on a jumper by Ryan Peter with 6:44 left in the half.  EIU closed the half with a 14-3 run with dunks by Marshawn Blackmon and Dama.  
 
The Panthers led 40-22 at the half shooting 53.8 percent from the floor.  EIU would increase that shooting percentage in the second half knocking down 56.7 percent in the second half and 55.4 percent for the game.
 
Goodwin joined McReynolds in double figures finishing with 15 points going 6-of-10 from the floor.  Dama led a solid effort on the glass with nine rebounds as EIU had a 41-22 rebound advantage.
 
Jo Jo Ballestero had 13 points to lead USF as the Fighting Saints were held to 32.6 percent shooting for the game.
 
EIU (1-0) will play at Troy on Monday night at 7 p.m.  Saint Francis is 0-1 on the season.

EIU Women Beat Millikin

The Eastern Illinois women's basketball team started their 2016-17 season off right with a 97-54 victory over the Millikin Big Blue Friday evening. Five Panthers finished the game in double figures as EIU out shot Millikin 66 percent to 34 percent.

Erica Brown led the team nearly earning a double-double finishing the game with 14 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes of playing time.

Both Carmen Tellez and Allison Van Dyke earned their first career starts for EIU. Van Dyke finished the game with 13 points while Tellez recorded eight.

As a team EIU accumulated 26 assists for the game led by Grace Lennox with seven.

EIU jumped out to a 7-0 lead early in the first period following a jumper from Tellez at the 7:39 mark.

Millikin's Cassie Sommers managed to pull the Big Blue within five after sinking a jumper followed by a three-pointer at the 5:52 mark to make it 10-5.

That would be as close as Millikin would get the rest of the game as Jalisha Smith eventually pushed the Panthers ahead by 10 after a layup to make it 15-5 in the early goings of the first period. Smith finished the game with 11 points and three rebounds.

Millikin kept the game close throughout the second period keeping the Panthers within 10 points throughout the quarter. EIU closed out the first half leading 42-31 following a layup from Zharia Lenoir and a free throw from Millikin's Lauren Moses to end the half.

Lenoir earned nine points and three rebounds in her opening game at EIU.

Both teams excelled from the three-point line throughout the first half of the game as EIU was 5-for-8 while the Big Blue was 7-for-12 from behind the arc.

EIU started off the second half in similar fashion going on a 9-3 run to open the third quarter following another jumper from Smith at the 8:04 mark. The Panthers pushed their lead to as high as 30 points in the third period as Brittin Boyer earned a layup to make it 71-41 to close out the period. Boyer finished the game with 10 points.

Boyer kept her hot streak going to open the final period sinking back-to-back buckets for the Panthers to give EIU a 75-43 lead at the 8:08 mark. The Panthers cruised through the final minutes of the match utilizing a young lineup consisting of Karina Chandra, Danielle Berry, Jennifer Nehls, Lenoir, and Boyer.

Van Dyke earned the Panthers their largest lead of the match sinking a jumper with 17 seconds left to earn the final score of 97-54.

Nehls was the fifth Panther to earn double-digits scoring 12 points while doling out four assists in her debut as a Panther.

The Panthers out shot Millikin 47-18 in the paint with the Panther bench accounting for 44 points.

The women's basketball team will be back in action this coming Monday (Nov. 14) as they travel to Evansville.