SIUE Hands EIU 66-53 loss In OVC Play

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Published on January 14 2022 6:36 am
Last Updated on January 14 2022 6:38 am

CHARLESTON, Ill. – SIUE won its third consecutive road game at Eastern Illinois, defeating the Panthers 66-53 for its first Ohio Valley Conference win of the year.

SIUE improved to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in OVC play. EIU fell to 2-13 overall and 0-2 in league play.

"That was big," SIUE Head Coach Broan Barone said. "It is so difficult to win on the road anytime and when you're coming into a place like this against a very well-coached team with guys that care and guys who fight, it's not going to be an easy game at all."

SIUE got out to a strong start, jumping out to leads of 6-0 and 13-4 before Eastern Illinois made a game of it. The Panthers pulled within two (31-29) at half.

"It was great for our guys to experience this," Barone added. "I thought we got away from who were at times. We're capable of doing so much more."

After Eastern Illinois tied the score at 31 to start the second half, SIUE scored the next seven points and 11 of 13 to pull away for good. SIUE pushed its lead to as many as 15 points.

"We stepped up when we needed to step up," Barone added. "We got some rebounds when we needed to get some rebounds. We made some big shots when we needed big shots."

The Cougars shot 50 percent (14-28) from the field in the second half and connected on 46 percent of its shots for the game. The Cougars outrebounded the Panthers 50-28, marking their most rebounds against a Division I opponent this year.

"Can you tell we talked about rebounding a little bit after the Murray State game?" Barone joked following the game.

Shaun Doss, Jr. led the Cougars with 17 points on 7-13 shooting.

"Shaun Doss was phenomenal," Barone said. "He was big time."

DeeJuan Pruitt scored eight points while hauling in a career-best 15 rebounds, one shy of SIUE's Division I record for individual rebounds in a single game.

Ray'Sean Taylor scored eight points, marking the first time in his career that he has not scored in double figures.

"Ray'Sean Taylor couldn't get into the flow, really for the first time in his career," Barone said. "But he was so engaged in the game."

Courtney Carter scored eight points, added seven rebounds and a team-high five assists.                         

"That's who we are," Barone added. "Everyone needs to be together and we need to be one unit in everything we do. That's what has to happen the rest of the year."

Paul Bizimana and CJ Lane scored nine points to lead Eastern Illinois, which shot 33 percent (18-55) for the game.

SIUE was scheduled to meet Southeast Missouri Saturday at First Community Arena, but the game was postponed earlier Friday. The Cougars are next slated to play host to Belmont Monday in Edwardsville.

"We just have to be ready and stay ready," Barone said. "It's a lot of fun to be around these guys."