EIU, SIUE Men Fall, EIU Women Win

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Published on January 18 2019 6:41 am
Last Updated on January 18 2019 6:41 am

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Murray State slowly built a double figure lead midway through the first half as the Racers remained undefeated in the Ohio Valley Conference handing Eastern Illinois its first home conference loss of the season, 83-61, on Thursday night at Lantz Arena.

EIU fell to 10-8 overall, 3-2 in the OVC.  Murray State improved to 14-2 overall, 5-0 in the OVC.

NBA prospect Ja Morant opened the game with a deep 3-pointer that EIU was able to counter on the next possession with a 3-pointer by Mack Smith.  The two teams traded baskets again before Rade Kukobat gave the Panthers an early lead with a jumper with 17:12 to play.

Morant tied the game at 7-7 with a dunk and then had an assist on a 3-pointer by Shaq Buchanan that gave the Racers a lead they would never relinquish.  Morant finished with 27 points and nine assists as he was 4-of-5 from 3-point range.  Buchanan knocked down four 3-pointers finishing with 17 points.

A Morant 3-pointer with 13:24 to play in the first gave Murray State a double figure lead which grew to 20 points with another Morant 3-pointer with 1:16 to play in the first half.  MSU led 48-29 at the half after Shareef Smith hit a late 3-pointer for the Panthers.  Smith was one of three EIU players in double figures finishing with 13 points on 3-of-5 from 3-point range.

A 7-0 run by the Panthers midway through the second half gave some life to the Panthers crowd with baskets by Josiah Wallace, Shareef Smith and Kashawn Charles that cut Murray State’s lead down to 12 points with 10:31 to play.

Mack Smith led EIU in scoring finishing with 22 points.  He knocked down three 3-pointers as he extended his consecutive game streak with at least one 3-pointer made to 35 which ranks as the longest active streak in the OVC.  Kukobat had 12 points and six rebounds.

KJ Williams had a double-double for the Racers collecting 16 rebounds to go with 14 points.  Murray State finished the evening with a 48-32 rebound edge.


EIU Women 75, Murray State 67

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Karle Pace extends her double-figure scoring streak to 13 straight games after scoring 23 points in Eastern Illinois women's basketball's win over Murray State. The Panthers defeated the Racers 75-67 to improve to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in the OVC. Murray falls to 6-10 overall and 2-3 in the OVC.

The Panthers came out strong to start the game out-scoring the Racers 27-19 in the first quarter. EIU forced Murray to commit six turnovers in the first ten minutes leading to 10 points for the Panthers. Pace would finish the quarter with nine points to lead all-scorers.

EIU held on to their double-figure lead heading into halftime. Carmen Tellez was a perfect 3-of-3 from the arc with 11 points for the Panthers as they led the Racers 44-32 going into the break.

Murray found momentum on the offensive end of the floor in the third quarter opening the half on a 9-2 run. Murray would take their first lead of the game on a three-pointer from Macey Turley at the 2:45 minute mark. The Racers out-scored the Panthers 24-12 in the third quarter to tie the game 56-56 going into the fourth.

On three consecutive possessions late in the fourth quarter, Grace Lennox and Taylor Steele would knock down game saving free throws to help EIU secure the 75-67 win over Murray State. Lennox finished the quarter with nine points for the Panthers.

Murray State dominated the glass despite falling to EIU. They out-rebounded the Panthers 41-28 with 17 offensive rebounds. The Racers scored 17 second chance points to the Panthers four. EIU finished the game with 26 points scored off Murray's 23 turnovers.

Pace was joined by three other EIU players in double-figures for the game. Lennox scored 16 points and recorded four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Carmen Tellez finished 4-of-8 from the field with 13 points, while Steele added 10 points for the Panthers.

Macey Turley scored a team-high 20 points. Evelyn Adebayo completed the double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds. She was only 2-of-7 from the field, but finished 8-of-8 from the foul line. Janika Griffith-Wallace added 10 points for the Racers off the bench.

The Panthers will be back in action Saturday Jan. 19 vs. Austin Peay at 1 pm.


Austin Peay 79, SIUE 71

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Austin Peay's Terry Taylor scored a career-best 33 points to lead the Governors past SIUE 79-71 at the Vadalabene Center.

Taylor made 12 of 24 shots, including two treys, sank 7 of 13 free throws and grabbed 12 rebounds.

"He's a very good player. He has great movement with his feet, strong hands and he plays hard," SIUE Head Coach Jon Harris said. "And when we got into foul trouble, that made it tougher."

While SIUE fell to 5-12 overall and 1-4 in the OVC, Austin Peay remained tied with Murray State and Jacksonville State for first place in the league. The Governors improved to 13-5 and 5-0 in defeating the Cougars for the eighth successive time.

"We battled, played hard and our kids played with a lot of emotion," Harris said. "I don't take that for granted because our players are competitors, and they want to win. They are fighters, and this is the first time in four years that I have seen it where everybody has cared. They just have to channel their emotions a little better."

Freshman Cameron Williams continued his solid play by scoring a team-high 16 points. He also had seven rebounds. Reserve Jaylen McCoy pitched in 10 points, while Tyresse Williford contributed 13 points and four assists. Brandon Jackson added eight points and eight rebounds.

"We battled, and we continue to do that consistently," Harris said. "But we made 18 turnovers, and that's too many against anybody. We need to do a better job of handling the ball and finishing around the rim."

Foul trouble also badgered the Cougars. They committed 29 of them and three players fouled out. Austin Peay made 17 of 34 free throws and hit on 28 of 62 field-goal attempts, including 6 of 20 treys.

SIUE made 22 of 58 shots, including 9 of 20 from 3-point land. The Cougars sank 18 of 23 foul shots and snagged 41 rebounds, one more than the Governors.

"I like how we played the whole game, but we were a little passive against their zone defense," Harris said.

The Cougars welcome OVC opponent Murray State at 7 p.m. Saturday to complete their two-game homestand. SIUE then travels to Southeast Missouri (Jan. 24) and UT Martin (Jan. 26) before returning home to face Morehead State (Jan. 31) and Eastern Kentucky (Feb. 2). Both of those home games are scheduled for 7 p.m.

"Murray State is different from Austin Peay, but they are a really good team, too," Harris said. "But they are no better than Austin Peay or Jacksonville State. It will be a very emotional game against them. What I would like to see is more consistency with our state of mind."