EIU Rallies For Win Over Western Illinois

Eastern Illinois rallied from 11 points down with 7:02 to play on Tuesday night as the Panthers won back the Old Railsplitter Ax with a 78-77 win over in-state rival Western Illinois.

The Panthers had three players score in double figures as they improved to 3-7 overall.  Western Illinois fell to 7-3.  The Panthers will be back in action on Thursday afternoon with a 1:30 p.m. game against Saint Francis (Ill.).

Dalan Ancrum put Western Illinois up 68-57 with 7:02 to play as the Leathernecks took their first double digit lead of the second half.  WIU lead by as many as 12 points in the first half when Kobe Webster finished off a lay-up to give the Leathernecks a 39-27 lead at 3:47.

EIU had a free throw by D’Angelo Jackson and jumper by Muusa Dama following Ancrum’s bucket to trim the lead to eight points.  After a free throw by Charles Gavin, EIU turned the momentum with three straight steals and a pair of easy buckets by Ray Crossland.  Crossland would have two of the three steals in that quick spurt as EIU finished with seven steals.

Crossland’s second basket cut WIU’s lead to 69-64 with 4:05 to play.  Jackson and Montell Goodwin then took the Panthers offensive game into their own hands.  Jackson hit a free throw and 3-pointer while Goodwin’s jumper with 1:48 to play gave the Panthers a 74-73 lead.

Webster answered for Western Illinois as part of his team high 16 points for WIU.  Jackson hit a jumper with 57 seconds left and the Panthers defense forced a turnover on the next Leathernecks possession.  Goodwin sank a pair of free throws to make it a three point game.  WIU would score a lay-up with three seconds left to cut EIU’s winning margin to one point.

Goodwin had a team high 23 points for EIU while Jackson added 19.  The Panthers were 19-of-28 from the foul line.  Dama added a career high 21 points with 16 points in the first half as the Panthers trailed 43-36 at the break.

Western Illinois finished the night shooting 54.9 percent from the floor as the Leathernecks entered the night ranked ninth in the NCAA in field goal percentage.  Ancrum had 14 points while Jeremiah Usiosefe and C.J. Duff each finished with 11.  Delo Bruster rounded out the Western Illinois double figure scorers with ten points.

SIUE 88, Chicago  State 76

Four SIUE players scored in double figures as the Cougars continued their winning ways Tuesday with an 88-76 victory over Chicago State at the Vadalabene Center.

The Cougars improved to 4-6 and registered their third consecutive victory for the first time since mid-Feburary (Feb. 14, 19 and 21) of 2015. Chicago State dropped to 2-13 and lost its ninth in succession.

"We did some really good things tonight and we are making progress to string wins together," SIUE Head Coach Jon Harris said. "We have good scoring balance on this team, we are doing some good things on the offensive end and we are playing together."

Christian Ellis and Jalen Henry both scored 19 points to pace SIUE, which made 32 of 53 shots (60.4 percent) and produced its most points of the season. It was the Cougars' highest shooting percentage since January 25, 2014 in a game at UT Martin.

Ellis matched a career-high in points and also equaled one with eight assists. Jaylen McCoy punched in a season-best 17 points, Daniel Kinchen contributed 15 points, while Keenan Simmons collected eight points, six of them on dunks. He also blocked seven shots.

North Texas 63, EIU Women 61 (OT)

Eastern Illinois women's basketball team had the chance to win in the last seconds regulation, but it was the Mean Green's Terriell Bradley to hit the buzzer beater jumper in overtime to secure the 63-61 overtime win over the Panthers.

The Panthers fall to 1-9 on the season as North Texas improves to 8-3.

The Mean Green jumped out to a quick start in the first quarter shooting 45.5 percent from the field behind Goodhart's five first quarter points. The Panther's headed into the second quarter down 13-9, but Halle Stull quickly shot them back into the game. Stull scored 11 points in the second quarter connecting on 4-of-5 from the field with three coming from beyond the arc. Stull sparked the Panthers 10-0 run as EIU led 24-20 heading into halftime.

Carmen Tellez hit back-to-back three-pointers midway through the third quarter to give the Panthers their largest lead of the game at nine points, but North Texas shot a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line to tie the game 40-40 heading into the fourth quarter.

EIU was down by two points with 29 seconds left to play when Taylor Steele completed a four point play to put the Panthers up 55-53. Danielle Berry and Grace McRae each with a chance to win the game in regulation but missing forcing the Panthers first overtime game of the season.

The teams traded baskets in the five minute overtime period, but it was Bradley of North Texas to secure the 63-61 win over EIU with a buzzer beating jumper. Bradley finished with a team-high 21 points while Brittany Smith grabbed 10 boards for the Mean Green.

The Panthers shot 40.4 percent from the field behind Steele's career-high 21 points. Steele also had five boards and three assists. Stull finished the game with a season-high 16 points and six rebounds, while Berry added seven points, six rebounds, five steals, and four assists.

EIU will return to action Friday Dec. 22 to close out non-conference play at Northwestern. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m and will be played at Evanston High school.