College Roundup From December 19

MEN's BASKETBALL

Saint Louis 72, Eastern Illinois 45

SAINT LOUIS – Saint Louis opened the game on an 18-3 run as the Billikens beat Eastern Illinois Wednesday by a 72-45 score. SLU improved to 7-3 while EIU fell to 3-9 overall.

Cory Remekum scored six of the Billikens first nine points as SLU had balanced scoring on the night. Mike McCall knocked down a 3-pointer in the opening nine points as he finished with a team high 13 points.

Freshman Alex Austin scored EIU’s first bucket with a 3-pointer at 17:44 that cut SLU’s early lead to 4-3, that was as close as the Panthers would get. Austin had his second straight big offensive night scoring 17 points including 10 of EIU’s first 12 points. Austin finished 6-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-3 from 3-point range.

The night marked a return for EIU head coach Jay Spoonhour to a place that his father Charlie Spoonhour was a successful coach.  At halftime of the game former SLU star Larry Hughes was honored with an award as the Donate Life Champion Award.

EIU returns to action on Saturday afternoon with a 2 p.m. game at Drake.

SIUE 81,Robert Morris-Springfield 49

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Four players scored in double figures Wednesday as SIUE men's basketball rolled to an 81-49 triumph over Robert Morris-Springfield at the Vadalabene Center.
 
The 81 points scored was a season-high for the Cougars while the 49 points allowed also was a season-best for SIUE.

"This was a much better defensive game for our guys," SIUE Head Coach Lennox Forrester said. "I thought we came out with some great intensity and great effort, which was a big change from Monday."

Michael Messer and Kris Davis shared scoring honors for the Cougars with 15 points each. Jerome Jones pumped in 13 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. Derian Shaffer added 11 points.
 
The Cougars, now 4-5, held the Eagles to just 13 first-half points. Robert Morris connected on just 5 of 29 shots from the field (17.2 percent) in the first 20 minutes, and SIUE led 39-13 at the break.

The Cougars will now break for the holidays before returning to take on Saint Louis Fri., Dec. 28.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Northern Illinois 48, EIU 38

DEKALB, Ill. – The Panther women’s basketball team was held to a season-low 38 points Wednesday night, falling at in-state foe Northern Illinois 48-38 at the Convocation Center. EIU opens Ohio Valley Conference action at Tennessee State on Dec. 29.

After making their first basket on the game’s opening possession, the Panthers (5-6) went 1-for-20 from the floor to fall behind to the Huskies 18-8 with 4:04 on the clock. EIU fought back by concluding the stanza on a 9-4 run on 5-for-9 shooting to get within five (22-17) heading into intermission.

Ta’Kenya Nixon paced the Panther offense with 10 points while Jordyne Crunk added nine points and Mariah King chipped in eight. Nixon also dished out a game-high four assists in the loss.