EIU, SIUE Capture Close Victories

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Published on January 25 2019 6:19 am
Last Updated on January 25 2019 6:19 am

MARTIN, Tenn. – The late game heroics continued for Eastern Illinois men’s basketball on Thursday night as the Panthers pulled out a 66-64 road win at UT Martin.

EIU improved to 12-8 overall, 5-2 in the OVC.  UTM fell to 5-13, 0-7 in the OVC.

Josiah Wallace drained a 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining in the game to give the Panthers the final lead.  Freshman Cam Burrell then blocked a put-back shot attempt under the basket as time expired to seal the victory for the Panthers.

EIU trailed by 12 points at the half and slowly chipped away at the lead.  The Panthers opened the second half with six straight points by JaQualis Matlock as he finished with 13 points.

A steal by Matlock that resulted in a dunk by Burrell cut the Skyhawks lead down to one point with 10:31 to play in the half.  Burrell would then give EIU a lead with back-to-back baskets as the Panthers led 56-53.  Burrell would finish with 11 points.

UT Martin responded to the Panthers run by turning to the 3-point shot.  Kevin Little knocked down a 3-pointer followed by a 3-pointer by Delfincko Bogan with 3:48 to play that gave the Skyhawks a five point lead, 63-58.  Little had 16 points and Bogan 12 to lead UTM.   The Skyhawks were 11-of-28 from 3-point range for the game.

Five straight points by Wallace tied the game before Quintin Dove would convert one of two at the free throw line with 31 seconds left to give UTM a 64-63 lead.

Wallace then capped the Panthers second straight late game win with his 3-pointer as he scored 17 points to lead EIU.

UT Martin pushed out to an 11-point lead with just over 3 minutes to play in the first half taking advantage of a Panthers late shooting slump.  Bogan knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 31-20.

EIU would answer Bogan’s 3-pointer with a quick 7-0 run of its own to trim the lead to 31-27 with 1:32 to play.  Wallace triggered the run with a 3-pointer followed by back-to-back baskets by Ben Harvey.

The Skyhawks closed the half on an 8-0 run to lead 39-27 at the half.  Little scored five of the eight points in the run to finish with ten first half points.

Mack Smith rounded out the Panthers double figure scorers with 14 points as he knocked down four 3-pointers.  Smith extended his consecutive games with a 3-pointer made streak to 37 games.

 

UI Martin 90, EIU Women 66

MARTIN, Tenn. -- Success from the free throw line led UT Martin to a 90-66 win over Eastern Illinois women's basketball Thursday night. The Skyhawks were 22-of-29 from the foul line while the Panthers finished with only seven attempts in the game. EIU falls to 8-10 overall and 2-5 in the OVC, while UTM improves to 13-5 overall and 5-2 in the OVC.

The Panthers came out hot in the first quarter shooting 66.7 percent from the field to take a 25-20 lead over the Skyhawks. EIU held the UTM without a field goal in the final 3:48 of the quarter, but the Skyhawks still managed to shoot 50 percent from the field.

The Skyhawks strung together a couple runs in the second quarter to take the lead over the Panthers. From the 7:03 minute mark to the 6:02 mark, UTM went on a 9-0 run to take a 33-29 lead. The Skyhawks then went on an 11-0 run to close the half leading 50-35 over the Panthers.

Carmen Tellez came out of the break scoring 11 straight points for EIU. She was 3-of-3 from the arc and scored on a fast break layup to narrow the Skyhawks lead to single-digits in the first three minutes of the third quarter. UTM managed another 8-2 run to close the quarter and lead by 13 heading into the final ten minutes.

The Skyhawks outscored the Panthers 18-7 in the final quarter leading them to their fifth OVC win of the year. UTM scored 12 second chance points as they dominated the boards 33-23. They also forced 22 EIU turnovers leading to 32 points.

Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in the game. The Panthers knocked down eight three-pointers shooting 34.8 percent from the arc. The Skyhawks shot 47.1 percent from the arc led by Brittni Moore who was 5-of-8 from three-point range.

Carmen Tellez finished with a team-high 14 points on 4-of-5 from the arc. Abby Wahl added 11 points and six rebounds, while Taylor Steele finished with 10 points, four rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks.

Moore finished with a game-high 22 points, while Emayne Robertson added 17 points, three rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Chelsey Perry recorded 15 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

The Panthers will be back in action this Saturday Jan. 26 with a 2 pm tip-off at Southeast Missouri.


SIUE 87, Southeast Missouri 86

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – SIUE men's basketball outlast Southeast Missouri 87-86 in three overtimes Thursday at the Show Me Center.

The Cougars snapped a five-game losing streak and improved to 2-5 in Ohio Valley Conference play. SIUE is 6-13 overall. Southeast Missouri has now lost five straight. The Redhawks fell to 1-6 in the OVC and 6-14 overall.

It is the fourth overtime game this season for SIUE and the first overtime game the Cougars had won since defeating Southeast Missouri in an overtime game at Vadalabene Center in 2014.

Brandon Jackson recorded his second career double-double to lead four SIUE players in double figures. Jackson scored 18 points and hauled in a career-best 15 rebounds. The 15 boards are one shy of SIUE's Division I record.

David McFarland scored a team-high 21 points. Tyresse Williford scored 18 and grabbed nine rebounds. Cameron Williams scored 13 points and added six rebounds. He picked up two blocks, including on Southeast Missouri's Isaiah Gable on the potential game-winning shot as time expired in the third overtime period.

"If I could have scripted it, I wouldn't have written the ending any better," SIUE Head Coach Jon Harris said. "Because we got a stop to win the game. Our defense really grew. This is a talented offensive team, but we got the stops we needed to get."

As a team, SIUE pulled down 58 rebounds to set a new Division I-era school record. The Cougars outrebounded Southeast Missouri 58-51 and hauled in 21 offensive rebounds to score 20 second chance points.

"We talk about our 'war stats,' and that's made free throws, rebounds and turnovers," Harris added. "We came in to this environment in three overtimes and won all three of those stats. That's because these young men care and they grew up tonight."

Ledarrius Brewer scored a game-high 24 points to lead Southeast Missouri. Gabe McGlothan turned his first career double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Sage Tolbert also scored 18 for the Redhawks.

SIUE remains on the road for a Saturday contest at UT Martin.