SIUE Beats Tennessee Tech, EIU Women Win, Men Lose

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE used a powerful second half to defeat Tennessee Tech 76-68 Thursday at the Vadalabene Center and maintain its quest to qualify for next week's Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament.

The Cougars put five players in double figures, benefited from a pair of second-half sprees and a strong defensive stand to improve to 10-19 overall and 6-11 in the OVC. The Golden Eagles fell to 7-23 and 3-14 in losing their ninth consecutive game.

"That's probably the best start we have had to the second half this season," SIUE Head Coach Jon Harris said. "That 8-0 spurt we had carried us the rest of the second half."

While the Cougars got going with the first eight points of the second half to grab a 38-30 advantage, the Golden Eagles couldn't solve the SIUE defense. Tennessee Tech made only one basket in nearly the first 5.5 minutes of the second half and dropped behind 40-32.

SIUE then went on a 12-2 spree after Tennessee Tech sliced the Cougars' lead to 40-37. By the midway point of the second half, SIUE led 57-42.

"We made some shots and our defensive mindset really picked up," Harris said. "This team can be a really good defensive one and I thought we played very good defense in the second half."

The offense also percolated. Junior Brandon Jackson led the way, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the final 20 minutes. He also had six rebounds. Jackson now has scored 60 points in his last three games. He has tallied 633 points in his SIUE career, putting him at No. 50 on the all-time scoring list.

"Brandon is a very capable guy and we are playing to him a little more now," Harris said. "He's so consistent mentally and he's playing with a lot more confidence."

Jackson added, "My teammates are trusting me and the guys are getting me the ball. I appreciate everybody doing that."

His teammates joined in on the fun. Tyresse Williford also scored 16 points and contributed six assists. Cameron Williams and David McFarland both pitched in 13 points, while Anselm Uzuegbunem proved effective with 11 points and eight rebounds. He made 4 of 6 shots and 3 of 4 free throws. McFarland, a senior, now has scored 643 points, putting him at No. 45 on the SIUE scoring chart.

The diverse attack marked the first time since Nov. 25 against Incarnate Word that the Cougars have had five players score in double figures. SIUE also got some redemption from a 78-69 overtime loss at Tennessee Tech on Jan. 10.

"We had a lot of guys contribute tonight, everybody was locked in and we had great balance on both ends," Harris said.

The Cougars made 27 of 58 shots and hit 5 of 18 from three-point land. They sank 17 of 28 free throws, were outrebounded 44-41, but accumulated 19 assists, or nine more than the Golden Eagles.

SIUE concludes its regular-season Saturday when the Cougars welcome Jacksonville State at 5 p.m. It'll be Senior Day and the Cougars will salute seniors Daniel Kinchen, Jaylen McCoy and McFarland. SIUE will be seeking some revenge after bowing to the Gamecocks 78-69 in overtime Jan. 10 in Jacksonville, Alabama.

"It's one game at a time and we want to take care of business on our home floor," Harris said. "For me (on Saturday), it's not so much about payback, but it's more about sending our three seniors out the right way at home. I'd love to see us get a win."

The eight-team OVC tournament start next Wednesday at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana and continues through Saturday, March 2. The OVC tourney champion automatically advances to the NCAA Tournament.

EIU Women 52, Jacksonville State 49

CHARLESTON, Ill -- Eastern Illinois women's basketball beats Jacksonville State 52-49 Thursday afternoon on Kids Day. Halle Stull had a productive day off the bench for the Panthers recording six points, five boards, a steal, and a block in the win. EIU improves to 11-17 overall and 5-12 in the OVC. JSU falls to 14-14 overall and 8-9 in the OVC.

The teams battled in Lantz Thursday afternoon as the highest lead was only six points by the Panthers in the third quarter. Each team led by at least five points once as the game was tied six different times and saw seven lead changes.

JSU got on the board first in the game with a layup by Chloe Long just 11 seconds into the first quarter. That would be the Gamecocks only lead of the first half as the Panthers held on to a three-point advantage heading into halftime.

Grace McRae opened the third quarter connecting on a three-pointer extending EIU's lead to six points making for the largest lead of the game. JSU fought back taking their first lead at the 8:44 mark on a jumper from Rayven Pearson. Stull would come off the bench and knock down a three to give the Panthers the lead for the remainder of the quarter. EIU led 38-34 going into the final 10 minutes.

The Gamecocks opened the fourth on a 8-1 run to take a three-point lead. Jumpers by Karle Pace and Taylor Steele narrowed the two leads JSU would hold over EIU. Perry would tie the game for the final time on a free throw, but a three-point play by Grace Lennox 2:33 left to play would lead the Panthers to a 52-49 win.

The Panthers held the Gamecocks to shooting 28.1 percent from the field and 20.6 percent from the arc, while they shot over 40 percent from both the field and three-point range. EIU also outscored JSU 26-12 in the paint.

Pace finished with a game-high 13 points and added four rebounds. McRae added 10 points and two boards, while Lennox tallied eight points, two boards, three assists, and two steals. Smith scored six points and grabbed a team-best six boards, while Steele dished out a game-high five assists.

Pearson led JSU with 13 points and finished with nine boards. Perry added eight points off the bench.

EIU will close the 2018-19 season on Saturday March 2 at 1 pm for Senior Day vs. Tennessee Tech. Come out to Lantz to support EIU's four seniors.

Jacksonville State 89, EIU 84

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Jacksonville State was able to string together a few more baskets than Eastern Illinois in the second overtime period as the Gamecocks beat the Panthers, 89-84, on Thursday night in Lantz Arena.  

It was the first overtime loss of the season for EIU as they fell to 14-16 overall, 7-10 in the OVC.  EIU is now 4-1 in overtime games this season.   JSU kept pace in the OVC race as they improved to 22-8 overall, 14-3 in the OVC.

Eastern Illinois held a three point lead with 1:20 remaining in regulation on a free throw by Shareef Smith that put EIU up 65-62.  De’Torrion Ware made a pair of free throw attempts with 1:09 left to make it a one point game.  Ware was a force for JSU scoring 20 points off the bench with four 3-pointers and a 6-of-6 night at the line.

JaQualis Matlock then went 1-of-2 at the foul line with 43 seconds remaining to give EIU a two point lead.  Jason Burnell hauled in an offensive rebound on a missed 3-pointer by JSU and converted a lay-up to tie the game with 20 seconds remaining.  EIU would miss on a game winning shot with four seconds left.

In the first overtime period, EIU again led by three points with only 18 seconds left as Josiah Wallace hit a pair of free throws.  Following a lay-up by Detrick Mostella with ten seconds left, EIU again was able to convert 1-of-2 at the foul line to make it a two-point game.  Ty Hudson hit a driving lay-up with three seconds left to force the second overtime.

In the second overtime JSU went ahead by two points with 58 seconds left on free throws by Burnell.  He would finish with 26 points and 14 rebounds.

EIU fell behind by four points on the next possession as the Panthers missed a lay-up and were forced to foul.  Mostella made both free throws and the Panthers were forced to foul to close out the game.  JSU made 21-of-26 free throws for the game including 12-of-14 in overtime.  Mostella had 12 points for JSU.

The Panthers were led by Mack Smith with 24 points as he extended his NCAA leading consecutive games with a 3-pointer made streak to 47 games.  The Panthers knocked down 11 3-pointers in the game as they set the school record for 3-pointers made in a season with 261.  Wallace finished with 23 points.

Senior Aboubacar Diallo had eight rebounds and one block as he moved into a tie for second on the EIU career blocks list with Eric Frankford at 100.  Diallo and Lucas Jones will be honored on Saturday prior to the start of the Panthers final home game at 3:15 p.m. against Tennessee Tech.