SIUE Men Win, EIU Men, Women Lose

The Cougars improved to 5-4 in the OVC and 7-8 overall, while snapping a two-game losing skid.

"We just battled," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "I am so proud of the guys that were out there. They battled so much."

A Michael Matas layup with 16:09 to play in the first gave SIUE an 8-7 lead and the Cougars never trailed again. SIUE led 36-28 at the half and extended the lead after halftime.

The Cougars had as much as a 15-point lead in the second half when Carlos Curtis converted a layup with 14:46 to play in the game. The Tigers got as close as six with 9:11 to play and had it down to seven (63-56) with inside of a minute left.

SIUE drained five of six free throws in the game's final 46 seconds to seal the win.

"I don't care if people are sick of me saying we are asking so much of them, because we are," Barone said of his team. "For them to gut it out the way they did after another game this week. I was really impressed with the effort."

Carlos Curtis led four SIUE players in double figures with 16 points. He added eight rebounds and five assists. Courtney Carter scored 14 points and pulled down a career-best nine rebounds. Shamar Wright scored 12 points and added a career-high 11 rebounds for the first double-double of his career. He blocked four shots, also a career-high.

"Shamar Wright did some great things," Barone said. "And how about Courtney Carter? I watched from the bench and was really impressed with that young man and I am proud to be his coach."

Mike Adewunmi scored 11 points and was seven for seven at the free throw line. Lamar Wright scored two points and added three rebounds. He also blocked four shots.

The Cougars outrebounded Tennessee State 45-40, for a new season-high against a Division I opponent. They added 10 blocked shots, the third time this season they have finished with at least 10 blocks in a game.

"Energy and effort are what we have right now," Barone said. "There are not a lot of schemes. There are not a lot of additions to what we're going to do."
Shakem Johnson led Tennessee State with 30 points on 14-of-20 shooting. He also led the way with nine rebounds.

The Cougars shot 40 percent (23-58) from the field and were 18 of 27 (67 percent) at the free throw line. The Cougars scored 32 points in the paint.

"We were better in the press today," Barone said. "We were organized and we believed in what we were doing."

SIUE continue its season-long home stand with a Saturday afternoon game with Belmont. Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m. at First Community Arena.

Belmont 77, EIU 75 (women)

CHARLESTON, Ill. - The EIU Panthers (8-10, 6-7 OVC) fell in a heartbreaker to the Belmont Bruins (9-4, 6-2 OVC), 77-75. The Panthers were without starters, Karle Pace and Morgan Litwiller, but battled with the No. 2 team in the OVC all game. The Panthers shot 54% from the field, despite the loss. Lariah Washington led the Panthers with 23 points and nailed 4-4 3-pointers. Kira Arthofer was able to manage another career-high with 12 assists on the day. Abby Wahl and Jordyn Hughes also managed to score double-digit points as Wahl finished with 15, and Hughes finished with 10. The Panthers will take on Tennessee State on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 1 p.m.

QUICK STATS

Kira Arthofer recorded a career-high 12 assists.

Lariah Washington has scored a combined 47 points in the past two games.

Lariah Washington shot 4-4 from 3-point-range.

The Panthers forced 19 turnovers while only recording nine of their own.

This is the first game the Panthers have lost when shooting over 50% from the field.

Abby Wahl shot a perfect 5-5 against the Bruins.

Briana Mishler scored a season-high 8 points; her highest scoring total with EIU.

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER

Both teams started the game battling for possession. The Panthers forced six turnovers early and managed to hold the Bruins to only 15 points in the quarter. Hughes scored a quick 6 points to draw the defense out of their zone. Hughes shooting allowed the rest of her teammates to get open, which became pivotal in the second quarter. Bruins led 15-13 going into the second quarter.

Eastern Illinois caught fire from beyond the arc in the second quarter, nailing 3-3 in the quarter. The Bruins came out hot as, however. The Bruins shot 60% field in the second quarter, an impressive feat. The Panthers one-upped the Bruins, as they shot 90% from the floor in the second quarter. The Panthers were unconscious in the second quarter, with the score reflecting that. EIU outscored Belmont 26-25 in the second quarter, but the Bruins held the slight 40-39 lead. 

Out of the break, the Panthers remained hot from the floor. The Panthers had taken advantage of the Bruins zone in the second quarter off of their outstanding shooting. This shift in the zone allowed for Abby Wahl to become more active in the low post. Arthofer found Wahl over and over, as she continued to rack up the assists.

Briana Mishler and Parker Stafford gave the Panthers valuable time off the bench as EIU continued to go blow-for-blow against the Bruins. The Panthers and Bruins scored 15 points a-piece in the quarter to give Belmont the 55-54 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

Eastern Illinois fought hard against the Bruins throughout the final quarter. Arthofer continued her career day; dishing out five assists in the quarter before fouling out in a last-ditch effort. Washington continued her perfect day from beyond the arc. The sophomore three of her four 3-pointers in the final quarter, including a contested 3-pointer in the corner.

The Panthers were unable to pull away, despite holding the lead for around a minute in the final quarter. The Panthers fell 77-75 to the Bruins.

Eastern Illinois will look forward to Saturday, Feb. 6, when they will face Tennessee State at 1 p.m.

Belmont 89, EIU 61 (men)

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Belmont connected from 3-point range early in the first half on Thursday night and the Bruins took advantage of an Eastern Illinois roster still missing a number of key players due to injury and return from COVID-19 protocols.  

The Bruins hit eight of their first 16 shots from long range as they beat the Panthers, 89-61.  Belmont won its 16th straight contest improving to 19-1 overall, 13-0 in the OVC.   EIU fell to 6-14 overall, 3-10 in the OVC.

Micah Schnyders hit a 3-pointer for EIU with 7:51 remaining in the half to bring EIU within six points at 22-16.   EIU had only eight players available again as the Panthers were missing four starters from earlier in the season and rolled out their 15th different starting line-up combination this season.

Mitch Listau keyed a run of 3-pointers for Belmont starting at the 7:04 mark as the Bruins hit four straight with Listau sinking three of those shots.   Caleb Hollander added another basket as Belmont went on a 14-1 run.  Marvin Johnson would end the Belmont run with a basket with 3:04 left in the first half.
Johnson would lead EIU in scoring with 15 points while Barlow Alleruzzo IV added 11.  Madani Diarra would pull down 11 rebounds to lead EIU on the glass.

After leading 38-25 at the half, Belmont opened the second half with a 17-7 run.  The Bruins had five players finish in double figures led by Ben Sheppard with 14 points.  Listau scored 13 off the bench as Belmont ended the game 13-of-31 from 3-point range.