College Basketball Roundup From Weekend

McKendree University fell to Wisconsin-Parkside in men's basketball competition Saturday by the score of 76-59.

Effingham St. Anthony graduate John Steppe scored 22 points and pulled down five rebounds for McKendree.

SIU 70, Murray State 61

Three Cougars scored in double figures but Murray State overcame a double-digit second half deficit to defeat SIUE 70-61 Saturday night in Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball.

"I thought our guys grinded pretty good tonight," SIUE Head Coach Lennox Forrester said. "I thought our guys played pretty well and played hard."

SIUE, 6-10 overall and 2-4 in the OVC, got off to a fast start and built its largest lead of the night thanks to a Mark Yelovich three-pointer to make it 24-10 Cougars with 9:02 to play in the half. A pair of Tim Johnson free throws made it 26-12 SIUE with 6:49 to play before the break.

The Racers, now 14-4 overall and 5-1 in the OVC, scored the next eight points to make it 26-20 3:44 left in the half. SIUE answered with an 8-0 run of its own to go up 34-20 with 1:44 left in the half. The Cougars owned a 34-23 lead at halftime.

"From pregame on I thought our guys were focused and locked in and knew what they had to do," Forrester said. "That's why we had an 11-point lead going into the half."

 "I thought we took care of the ball well. That was a key for us in the first half," Yelovich said. "I thought our defense was good. We executed the game plan on defense."

SIUE connected on 57.1 percent (12-21) of its shots over the first 20 minutes, while also limiting Murray State to just eight field goals in 30 attempts (26.7 percent).

EIU 77, Austin Peay 67

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Three Eastern Illinois players scored in double figures as the Panthers picked up their first win in Clarksville, Tenn., in 15 years as they beat Austin Peay, 77-67, on Saturday night at the Dunn Center.

EIU’s last win over APSU in Clarksville was on Jan. 27, 1998.  EIU improved to 4-16 overall, 1-6 in the OVC.  APSU fell to 5-15, 1-5 in the OVC.  EIU hosts UT Martin at 7 p.m. on Thursday night.

EIU won the game with its play on the glass with a 33-21 rebound advantage.  The Panthers pulled down 16 offensive rebounds led by Sherman Blanford’s seven offensive rebounds.  Blanford had a double-double with 10 rebounds and 19 points to go along with six assists and four steals.

Chris Horton put APSU up 2-0 on the first possession of the game.  Josh Piper answered with a 3-pointer to set up a big night for the sophomore as he finished with a game high 20 points.

Anthony Campbell gave the Governors their last lead with a 3-pointer at 17:45 of the first.  Austin Akers responded with a 3-pointer at 17:15 which started a 9-1 EIU run.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

MURRAY, Ky. – SIUE scored a season-high 31 second-chance points Saturday but couldn't overcome a pair of hot shooters in an 81-68 loss at Murray State.
 
The Cougars, now 8-10 overall and 2-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference, grabbed a season-best 52 rebounds. It was the most by an SIUE team in more than four years.
 
"I thought we did a nice job of getting to the offensive boards," said SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher. The Cougars ended the game with 29 offensive rebounds, including eight from Ashley Capotosto.
 
Raven Berry led three SIUE players in double figures with 19 points and nine rebounds. CoCo Moore pumped in 14 points, and Tierny Austin added 12. Teutopolis graduate Jessie Wendt hit three of eight from the field, one of three from three-point range and two of two at the line for nine points. She had three rebounds and one assist.

EIU 68, Austin Peay 43

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.  – The Panther women’s basketball team remained in first place in the Ohio Valley Conference’s west division with a 68-43 win over Austin Peay on Saturday afternoon at the Dunn Center. EIU improves to 11-7 overall and 5-1 in the OVC.

The Panthers struggled out of the gate, going 1-for-11 from the floor to trail Lady Govs, 12-2, through the game’s first seven minutes. EIU responded by going on a 29-5 run to take its largest lead of the half, 31-17, with 1:25 left on the clock. Austin Peay scored three unanswered points to cut its deficit to 11 points (31-20) heading into intermission.

The Lady Govs made their opening basket of the second stanza to get within nine (31-22), but the Panthers scored on their next basket to take a double-digit advantage they would hold onto for duration of the game. EIU hit 50 percent (17-for-34) of its second-half shots to eventually lead by as much 25 points in the closing minutes of the game to post their third consecutive conference win.

Defensively, the Panthers allowed a season-low 43 points. EIU also forced 20 Austin Peay turnovers, converting the miscues into 19 points.

EIU outrebounded the Lady Govs by 17 (55-38), led by Sydney Mitchell and Sabina Oroszova who combined for 28 rebounds. Both players recorded career highs as Mitchell had 15 rebounds and Oroszova grabbed 13 rebounds, respectively.