EIU, SIUE Men Lose, EIU Women Down Jacksonville State

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Published on January 3 2017 9:53 am
Last Updated on January 3 2017 9:53 am
Written by Millie Lange

Eastern Illinois defense limited the nation’s fourth best 3-point shooting team, Jacksonville State, to just 11 percent shooting from beyond the arc on Saturday afternoon.  However, the game came down to free throws in the final seconds at JSU beat EIU, 57-56, in Ohio Valley Conference action from Lantz Arena.
 
JSU improved to 9-7 overall, 2-0 in the OVC.  EIU fell to 8-6, 0-1 in the OVC.
 
JSU took a 56-53 lead with 16 seconds remaining in the game as Norbertas Giga made a lay-up in the lane.  EIU cut the margin down to one point with a pair of Ray Crossland free throws with nine seconds left.
 
Malcolm Drumright was fouled on the inbounds pass but converted only one of two free throws to give the Gamecocks a 57-55 lead.   EIU junior guard Cornell Johnston drove to the lane as was fouled with 0.7 seconds remaining.  He converted the first shot but missed the second and Christian Cunningham pulled down the rebound to seal the win for JSU.  Cunningham finished the game with 19 rebounds including seven on the offensive glass.
 
JSU finished the game with a 44-38 rebound margin with 13 second chance points in the contest.  Giga joined Cunningham in double figures for rebounds pulling down 11 to go with 15 points.   Muusa Dama had a double-double for EIU with ten points and 15 rebounds.  Dama had 11 of his rebounds in the first half.
 
EIU led 32-25 at the half after limiting JSU to 1-of-12 on 3-point shooting.  Joe Kuligoski had a pair of 3-pointers off the bench his second one coming with 4:48 to play in the first half as EIU closed the half with a 15-5 run.  Demetrius McReynolds hit a 3-pointer to close the half as he had ten points in the game.
 
JSU took the second half lead with 9:23 to play on a three point play by Erik Durham.  Giga followed with back-to-back baskets as JSU used a 9-0 run to build a 50-43 lead with 8:14 to play.  Durham had 14 points.
 
The Panthers were able to cut the JSU lead to one on six occasions in the final 6:15 but the Panthers could never tie or take the lead after Durham’s basket at the midway point.
 
Johnston added ten points for EIU to give the Panthers three double figure scorers.  Greg Tucker had 12 points to round out the double figure scorers for JSU.


Tennessee Tech 72, SIUE 66

Tennessee Tech fended off the Cougars 72-66 at the Vadalabene Center to send SIUE to 5-10 overall. Tennessee Tech improved to 5-11 in winning its conference debut.

"I think we did some pretty good things on both ends of the floor, but the difference in the game was our missed free throws," SIUE Head Coach Jon Harris said.

The Cougars made 22 of 37 fouls shots, while the Golden Eagles hit 17 of 22 free throws. SIUE's missed fouls shots hampered Cougar comebacks in the second game. SIUE never led the second half, though the Cougars got to within 58-57 with 6:07 remaining. Then Tennessee Tech went to work again and expanded its lead.

"They did some good things," Harris said of the Golden Eagles. "They kept us at arm's length and made some tough shots."

Jalen Henry did some good things for the Cougars. He scored a team-high 19 points, thanks mainly to 6-for-7 shooting from the field. Henry, a 6-foot, 8-inch junior from Springfield, also converted 7 of 12 free throws and snagged seven rebounds.

"Jalen is an aggressive player and he is playing at a high level of confidence," Harris said. "He has been consistent for us."

Carlos Anderson, a 6-4 sophomore from Alton, tallied 10 points. Reserve Josh White, a 6-1 senior from Edwardsville, pitched in eight points in four minutes. And Tre Harris, another Edwardsville High graduate and 6-5 redshirt sophomore, returned to the lineup and scored seven points.


EIU Women 71, Jacksonville State 67 (2OT)

The Eastern Illinois women's basketball team ended the year on a high note defeating Jacksonville State 71-67 in double overtime Thursday afternoon. With the win EIU snaps a seven-game losing skid improving to 5-9 overall and 1-1 in the OVC recording their first conference win of the year. JSU falls to 7-7 and 0-2 in the conference.

Four players finished the game in double-figures led by Grace Lennox and Jennifer Nehls with 17 points each. Nehls had a massive night for the Panthers setting a new career high in points and tying her career high with four assists while leading the team with eight rebounds and three blocks.

The victory over JSU is the Panthers first double overtime win since 2008 when they beat none other than Jacksonville State 83-81 in Jacksonville. This is also the first overtime win for EIU since last year's 77-71 overtime victory over IUPUI in the season opener.

Both teams headed into overtime tied at 61 as JSU utlized an 8-1 run to close out the fourth period. The Panthers went into the fourth quarter leading 50-44 as Lennox recorded a layup in the opening seconds of the period. EIU built their lead to as high as seven points throughout the final quarter, but JSU would not go away tying the game late. Lacey Buchanon scored the final four points of JSU's run to tie the game with 53 seconds left to play as neither team could make a bucket in the final seconds of regulation.

It was the same story in the first overtime as neither team could get the go-ahead bucket. Nehls finally broke the stalemate with a jumper at the 1:58 mark to put EIU ahead 63-61. The Panthers fought to maintain their lead, but JSU's Tyler Phelion put the Gamecocks on the board in the extra period with a jumper to tie the game at 63-63 with 41 seconds left. Only two buckets were made the entire overtime period as the teams headed into the second overtime.

Lennox and JSU's Buchanon opened the second overtime trading buckets as both teams remained deadlocked at 65-65 with 3:12 to play. The Panthers took a slim lead thanks to a made free throw from Danielle Berry, and from there on out it was all Nehls. The freshman scored EIU's next five points as the Panthers closed out the second overtime on a 6-2 run to earn the 71-67 double overtime victory. Berry finished the game with a career high five points along four rebounds and two assists.

The Panthers finished the game shooting 44.8 percent compared to 32.5 percent from the Gamecocks as JSU did not lead throughout the entire game.