EIU Men, Women, SIU Men Lose

Northern Kentucky used a late run to break open a two point game in the final three minutes as NKU beat Eastern Illinois, 80-70, on Wednesday night at BB&T Arena.

EIU dropped to 5-4 on the season and will play at Western Illinois on Saturday afternoon.  NKU improved to 6-3.

EIU closed the NKU lead to 67-65 on a dunk by Muusa Dama with 3:26 remaining as the Panthers came back from a double digit deficit early in the second half.

The Norse answered with Lavone Holland draining back-to-back 3-pointers as EIU missed three shots on the offensive end of the floor.  Holland ended the game scoring nine points of his 28 points in the final three minutes.  His final three points came at the foul line as NKU was 16-of-22 for the game.

Holland led NKU to a double digit lead early in the second half as his 3-pointer sparked a 12-2 Norse run.  Holland dropped in another 3-pointer during the run as he was 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.

EIU answered with a run of its own with Demetrius McReynolds scoring five points during a 9-2 run.  McReynolds dribbled into the lane for a lay-up with 7:21 left to play that gave EIU a 63-62 lead.  McReynolds was one of three EIU players in double figures finishing with 16 points.

Eastern Illinois jumped out to a 14-8 lead as both teams were hot to the open the half.  McReynolds completed a four-point play to put the Panthers up six at the 15:40 mark.

NKU used a 20-12 points in the paint advantage as they pushed their lead to eight points with 7:19 to play in the first on a low post jumper by Drew McDonald.   McDonald would give the Norse a 39-37 halftime lead sinking a pair of free throws with two seconds left in the half after Ray Crossland had tied the game with a put-back in the final 22 seconds.

NKU shot 59 percent in the opening half while EIU connected on 54 percent going 5-of-9 from 3-point range.  Cornell Johnston hit three first half 3-pointers, scoring 11 of his team high 17 points in the first half.  Dama rounded out the EIU double figure scorers with 13 points.

NKU finished the game shooting 49 percent with McDonald scoring 17 points and Carson Williams scoring ten.

Cleveland State 66, EIU Women 56

The Eastern Illinois women's basketball team fell behind early and could not seem to mount a comeback Wednesday afternoon losing to Cleveland State 66-56. With the loss the Panthers drop to 4-6 on the year while CSU improves to 4-4.

Three Panthers finished the game in double-figures led by Grace Lennox with 15 points. Erica Brown recorded her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Carmen Tellez earned career highs in points and assists against the Vikings with 12 points and five dimes to lead the team.

The Vikings took the lead early in the game leading 7-3 following a three-pointer from CSU's Khayla Livingston at the 7:35 mark in the first quarter. EIU battled back to tie the game at 10-10 thanks to a layup from Erica Brown with 5:36 left to go in the period.

From there it was all Cleveland State as the Vikings closed out the opening period on a 13-2 run to head into the second quarter leading the Panthers 23-12.

CSU shot 62.5 percent in the first quarter compared to EIU's 25 percent.

EIU cut into the Viking lead in the opening minutes of the second quarter going on a 7-2 run to bring the Panthers within six points following a Jennifer Nehls bucket to make it 25-19 with 7:59 left in the half. Nehls finished the game with eight points and a career high nine rebounds.

Back-to-back buckets put Cleveland State back ahead by 10 points as the Vikings pushed their lead to as high as 15 points in the quarter  after a free throw shot by Alexis Eckles made it 38-23 with 1:09 left in the half. Zharia Lenoir's buzzer-beating three-pointer to close out the half sent EIU into the locker room trailing 38-26.

A 9-0 run early in the second half pulled the Panthers back into the game as Nehls capped off the run with a layup at the 6:17 mark making the score 42-37. CSU answered right back with two straight buckets to reclaim their 10 point lead as both teams fought back-and-forth throughout the rest of the period with Cleveland State leading 52-43 heading into the fourth quarter.

It was another back-and-forth quarter for both teams, but EIU could not seem to break the 10-point cushion built by Cleveland State throughout the final period. Tellez drilled one of her four three-pointers in the game as the final buzzer sounded to secure the final score of 66-56.

The Panthers shot only 28.8 percent from the floor for the game, their lowest shooting percentage in a game so far this season.

Cleveland State was led by Ashanti Abshaw with 18 points followed by Jade Ely with 10. CSU finished the game out-scoring EIU in the paint 38-14.

EIU now heads out on the road for a three-game stretch starting at Western Illinois this Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Stetson 80, SIUE 72

A career night from junior forward Jalen Henry and a strong second half weren't enough to overcome a slow first half and a tough night at the free throw line. SIUE men's basketball fell to Stetson 80-72 at Vadalabene Center Wednesday.

The Cougars slipped to 4-5 for the season. The Hatters, who won their first road game of the year, improved to 5-6.

"Our effort, our focus and our intensity to start the game was the difference in my mind," SIUE Head Coach Jon Harris said. "It's not about offense. Sometimes your shot's not going fall. You still have to find a way to scratch and claw. I don't think we started the game with the right mindset."

Henry collected his first career double-double, scoring a career-best and game-high 28 points while hauling in a career-high 11 rebounds. The Springfield, Illinois product was 8 for 12 from the field and knocked down 11 of 14 free throws.

"He was one guy that was very good from start to finish," Harris said. "Jalen is a guy that is very capable on both ends. He has all the tools. It all came to a head for him tonight. I just hate that the other guys didn't come with him from start to finish."

Tre Harris was the only other SIUE player in double figures scoring. He scored 12 points.