EIU, SIUE Pick Up Weekend Victories

ASHEVILLE, NC – UNC Wilmington was hot all game from the field as the Seahawks handed Eastern Illinois an 82-65 loss on the final day of the visitcurrituckOBX.com Battle in the Blue Ridge on Sunday afternoon in Asheville, NC.

EIU fell to 3-3 on the season after going 2-1 in the tournament.  UNCW improved to 3-4 on the season and was also 2-1 in the tournament.

UNC Wilmington came out gunning in the first half as the Seahawks quickly jumped out to a double figure lead at 16-6 as Ty Gadsden knocked down a 3-pointer with 15:15 to play.

EIU cut into the first half lead with Josiah Wallace connecting on back-to-back 3-pointers.  The second 3-pointer came with 6:02 to play in the first half that cut UNCW’s lead to 26-25.  Wallace had 12 first half points and finished the game with 19.

The Seahawks then pulled away with a 12-0 run sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers by Gadsden as he was 6-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 from 3-point range in the opening half.  Gadsden scored 16 of his 19 points for the game in the opening half.

UNCW led 45-32 at the half as the Seahawks shot 59 percent from the field in the first half and 56 percent for the game.

The Seahawks continued the same trend in the second half as UNCW had a pair of players finish with double-doubles.  Devontae Cacok, the nation’s leading rebounder had 17 points and 13 rebounds.  Guard Kai Toews had ten points and 14 assists.  UNCW won the battle on the glass with a 37-26 margin.

EIU made four shots in the final minutes of play to cut what had been a 26-point deficit in the second half down to 14 points in the final minute.

Ben Harvey added ten points off the bench for EIU.

EIU returns to action on Wednesday night hosting Purdue Fort Wayne at 7 pm in Lantz Arena.  The game can be seen on ESPN+.

EIU 90, Arkansas State 86

Josiah Wallace scored 31 points with all of them coming in the second half and overtime session as Eastern Illinois won its second game in as many days with a 90-86 win over Arkansas State in the visitcurrituckOBX.com Battle in the Blue Ridge in Asheville, N.C.

EIU improved to 3-2 on the season.  ASU fell to 1-4.

The Panthers trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half but closed to within six points with 3:01 to play.  JaQualis Matlock then made a pair of free throws and brought EIU to within one point with 1:45 to play with a three point play.

Wallace then gave EIU its first lead of the game with a three point play with 1:10 to play at 75-73.  Ty Cockfield answered for ASU with a driving lay-up as the senior guard led the Red Wolves with 24 points countering most of the Panthers second half runs by himself.

ASU then held the lead in the final seconds with Wallace forcing overtime with a running jumper in the lane with 1.4 seconds left in the contest.

In overtime Wallace hit back-to-back jumpers in the overtime session to give EIU an 85-80 lead with just over two minutes to play.  Wallace had ten of his points in overtime with the Panthers scoring 13 as a team in the extra time.

In the opening half Arkansas State was able to get EIU into some early foul trouble as the Red Wolves made 15-of-16 from the free throw line to post a 32-24 lead at the break.  ASU was able to get good production from its bench with Malik Brevard finishing with a double-double at 13 points and ten rebounds.  ASU finished the game with 43 points off the bench.

The Panthers finished with a 45-42 advantage on the glass.  Mack Smith had his second career double-double with 14 points and ten rebounds.  Rade Kukobat narrowly missed a double-double with 13 points, nine rebounds.  Matlock added seven points, seven rebounds coming off the bench for the first time this season.

EIU 79, Gardner-Webb 78

In a game that had 17 lead changes the two most important came in the final nine seconds as Eastern Illinois picked up a 79-78 win over Gardner-Webb in the opening game of the visitcurrituckOBX.com Battle in the Blue Ridge in Asheville, N.C.

EIU improved to 2-2 on the season.  GWU fell to 1-4 on the season.

EIU held a 77-76 lead with 32.2 seconds remaining and GWU forced a turnover in the paint.  David Efianayi drove the lane for a lay-up with nine seconds remaining to give GWU a 78-77 lead.  Efianayi had 20 points to lead the Bulldogs.

After the teams used a combined four timeouts, Rade Kukobat was fouled setting a screen on the inbounds play for EIU.  The junior stepped to the line and sank both free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining.  EIU played protection defense on the GWU inbounds to win the game.

EIU jumped out to a seven point lead in the second half with a pair of 3-pointers by Kashawn Charles that put EIU up 51-44.  EIU finished the game 12-of-26 from 3-point range for 46 percent.  The Panthers shot 51 percent from the field for the game.

Efianayi rallied GWU back and Justin Jenkins 3-pointer with 9:10 to play gave the Bulldogs a 58-56 lead.  The two teams traded the lead back and forth down the stretch.  Mack Smith had 11 straight points for EIU as he finished with 13, one of four Panthers in double figures.

Gardner-Webb led by as many as ten points with just over seven minutes to play in the first half as GWU went on a 13-0 run.  Jose Perez dropped in a pair of 3-pointers during the run as he finished the game with 15 points.

EIU battled back behind the hot first half shooting of Josiah Wallace.  Wallace had 16 first half points hitting three straight 3-pointers that trimmed GWU’s lead to 29-28 with 5:43 to play in the first half.

Lucas Jones 3-pointer with a minute left to play to give the Panthers at 37-36 lead.  GWU closed out the half to hold the lead at the half 38-37.  GWU shot 52 percent from the field in the first half and 53 percent for the game.

Wallace led all scorers with 22 points.  Kukobat had 12 and Charles 11 for EIU.  Kukobat had eight rebounds for EIU as the Panthers finished with a 35-23 advantage on the glass including 11 offensive rebounds.

Nate Johnson added ten points and six rebounds for GWU.

SIUE 80, Incarnate Word 68

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Once the SIUE Cougars got going Sunday at the Vadalabene Center, they couldn't be stopped.

SIUE used a powerful second half to defeat Incarnate Word 80-68 and celebrate its first men's basketball win of the season. The Cougars improved to 1-3 and the Cardinals dropped to 4-5.

"Our guys did a good job responding because Incarnate Word plays a little unorthodox defensively," SIUE Head Coach Jon Harris said. "We really did some good things in the second and shared the basketball like we need to do it. I wouldn't say it was our best half of basketball this season, but it was a good one."

The Cougars, trailing 27-26 at halftime, erupted for 54 second-half points, thanks mainly to 19-for-30 shooting.

"We were also rebounding better in the second half," senior David McFarland said. "This win really should be a boost for us."

McFarland scored 12 points and was one of five Cougars to reach double figures. Point guard Tyrese Williford led the parade with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists after scoring 24 points Wednesday at Valparaiso.

"I'm just understanding better what's going on and reading the ball screens," said Williford, who punched in 15 second-half points.

Anselm Uzuegbunem added 12 points, while Brandon Jackson and reserve Jaylen McCoy contributed 10 points. McCoy registered seven consecutive SIUE points midway through the second half when the Cougars stretched their lead from 51-43 to 58-45. McFarland's 3-pointer at 16:40 put SIUE on top 36-33 and the Cougars never looked back.

"We have good depth and Jaylen McCoy really did some good things for us today," Harris said.

Harris added, "We made some adjustments the second half and all of the guys were executing things. Scoring shouldn't be an issue for us this season, but we need to continue and play better. I think we will eventually hang our hat on the defensive side of our game."

The Cougars overcame some inconsistency at the start of the game. They missed their first eight shots and trailed 8-0 before Uzuegbunem scored at 13:40. SIUE rallied to go ahead 24-20, when McFarland punched in seven successive points, but the Cardinals, members of the Southland Conference, held that one-point lead at half.

Yet the second half belonged to the Cougars. They withstood Christian Peevy's 32 points, including 20 in the second half. Incarnate World also made 23 of 25 free throws. The visitors connected on 22 of 48 shots, though they were just 1 of 7 on 3-pointers.

SIUE made 29 of 59 shots, including 8 of 21 treys. They Cougars converted 14 of 17 foul shots and outrebounded the Cardinals 32-26.

The Cougars resume action Wednesday against instate rival Western Illinois in Macomb. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. Then SIUE welcomes sister school SIU Carbondale in a renewal of their rivalry at 2 p.m. Saturday. A large crowd is expected at the Vadalabene Center for the 11th series game between the Cougars and the Salukis.

"It's a big week for us," Harris said. "It's a quick turnaround and Western Illinois has improved from last year. But we're going up there to win."