EIU, SIUE Men Drop Losses, EIU Women Win

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas used a 15-0 run late in the first half to break open a two-point game as the Longhorns beat Eastern Illinois, 71-59, in the season opener Tuesday night at the Frank Erwin Center.

Eastern Illinois and Texas traded the lead for the first 16 minute of the game with nine lead changes between the schools.  EIU’s biggest lead was at 20-16 on a basket by JaQualis Matlock.

The Panthers took the lead at 25-23 with 3:50 remaining in the first half on a Ben Harvey 3-pointer as the Panthers were 4-of-11 from 3-point range in the opening half.

Texas then went on a 15-0 run to open up a 38-28 halftime lead.  Elijah Mitrou-Long had seven points in the run and handed two other assists during the run.  EIU was able to snap a 3:49 scoring drought to end the opening half as Josiah Wallace drained a 3-pointer as time expired.

Texas opened the second half holding EIU without a basket for the first 90 seconds of the half while the Longhorns knocked down a couple of shots to create comfortable lead as Jericho Sims dunk gave Texas a 45-29 lead.

The Longhorns ended the game shooting 50 percent from the floor while holding EIU to 36 percent for the game.

Eastern Illinois closed the gap scoring the final six points with baskets by Rade Kukobat, Mack Smith and Shareef Smith.   Kukobat finished with a team-high 12 points while pulling down seven rebounds.  Mack Smith had 11 points.

Texas won the battle on the glass by a 35-34 margin with EIU collecting ten rebounds on the offensive glass.  Cam Burrell had three offensive rebounds, four points and two blocks.

Matt Coleman finished with 13 points while Jaxson Hayes added 12 off the bench to lead Texas.

EIU returns to action on Saturday at IUPUI.

EIU Women Claim Opener

Eastern Illinois women's basketball beat Oakland City 102-43 at home in their season opener Tuesday night in Lantz Arena. All 14 players who saw time on the court scored for the Panthers. EIU is off to a 1-0 start on the season.

The Panthers opened the game shooting 47.6 percent from the field in the first quarter led by Grace McRae and Jennifer Nehls who both finished 2-of-2 from the field. The Panthers outscored the Might Oaks 21-10 in the first 10 minutes of play.

In the second quarter, EIU went on a 16-3 run in the first six minutes of play highlighted by seven points from Carmen Tellez. Tellez connected on two field goals including one three-pointer and hit two free throws for the Panthers. Tellez would finish the game with 13 points and went 3-of-5 from the arc.

EIU entered the second half leading OCU 51-19. Grace Lennox opened the third quarter with back-to-back buckets connecting on a layup and a three-pointer. The Panthers finished the quarter shooting 5-of-9 from the arc including two late three's from Danielle Berry and Carmen Tellez to give EIU 78-26 lead into the final 10 minutes. Lennox's three-pointer at the 8:31 minute mark would make her the 24th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. She finished the game with nine total points and currently sits at 1,004 career points.

The Mighty Oaks put up 17 fourth quarter points led by Sarah Dudzinski, but the Panthers held on to a dominating 102-43 win.

Four EIU players finished in double-figure scoring. Carmen Tellez scored a game leading 13 points, while Taylor Steele added 12 points. Berry and Jordyn Hughes each finished with 10 points. Nehls led both teams with 10 boards and Jalisha Smith grabbed another eight rebounds for the Panthers.

EIU dominated the paint 44-22 and saw great production from their bench who tallied 61 of their 102 points. Camino Tellez connected on 2-of-2 from three point range for EIU finishing with eight points.

Kayla Sandford finished with a team high eight points for OCU, while Shannon Pittman tallied seven points and four rebounds.

The Panthers will be on the road vs. Butler later this week. Tip-off is set for 11 am CT on Friday Nov. 9.

University of Pacific 74, SIUE 65

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE staged a strong second-half comeback, but the University of Pacific fought off the Cougars 74-65 Tuesday in the season opener for both teams at the Vadalabene Center.

SIUE trailed by 23 points in the first half and 40-21 at half, but cut Pacific's lead to four points with less than two minutes remaining before the Tigers held on for the victory in the first meeting between the two teams.

"We'll be better because of this game," fourth-year SIUE Head Coach Jon Harris said. "It was a good lesson for us, and we will grow because of it. I thought we competed harder in the second half, guarded better and made shots some shots. But you can't spot a team 16 points to start the game. That was disappointing."

Pacific built a 16-0 advantage before SIUE freshman Cameron Williams hit the Cougars' first basket with 14:33 to play in the first half. The Tigers led 40-17 late in the first half and by 19 at the break.

Then the Cougars rallied, thanks mainly to senior David McFarland. The 6-foot, 4-inch senior tallied 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half. His four-point play early in the half ignited the Cougars, and he followed that with a trio of treys.

"He was very productive, especially coming off a hip injury," Harris said. "David is a senior, and he does the same thing every day for us. He produces."

McFarland said, "I saw a couple of shots go down (tonight) and that got me going. We hit some more shots in the second, defended better and played with more fight."

Daniel Kinchen's steal and basket with 1:56 to go narrowed Pacific's lead to 65-61, and the Cougars were within striking distance. Yet they could get no closer. The Tigers sank seven free throws in the closing 42.5 seconds to give third-year Head Coach Damon Stoudamire, a former NBA standout, an opening-game win. Lafayette Dorsey's 18 points led Pacific, a member of the West Coast Conference.

"We were right there with them near the end of the game," Harris said. "It's a process for us, and we took a step forward in the second half. We figured some things out, and we just need to play with more consistency."

Brandon Jackson added 12 points and seven rebounds to the SIUE effort. Kinchen finished with 13 points, including three tthree-pointers. The Cougars made 22 of 56 shots, were 8 for 31 on three-pointers and made just 13 free throws. Pacific outrebounded them 43-25, but SIUE forced 22 turnovers, 10 more than the Cougars committed.

Next up is Winthrop (Rock Hill, S.C.) in a 7 p.m. Saturday at the Vadalabene Center. The Eagles belong to the Big South Conference.

"Winthrop is a very good opponent and a really good team," Harris said. "They are a well-coached team and used to winning."