EIU Wins Men's Basketball Exhibition Game

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois men’s basketball closed out its lone exhibition game of the year with a 16-0 run as the Panthers were able to grind out a 66-51 win over Missouri St. Louis on Wednesday night at Lantz Arena.

EIU will open the 2019-20 season next Tuesday at NCAA National Runner-Up, Texas Tech.  The regular season home opener will be Nov. 12 against Chicago State.

UMSL took a 51-50 lead on a lay-up by Yaakema Rose Jr., as he led the Tritons with 16 points on the night.  The basket at 5:55 would be the final score of the evening for UMSL as the EIU defense clamped down to close out the contest.

EIU had five blocked shots as the Tritons missed their final eight shots with two turnovers mixed in to close out the contest.  Marvin Johnson and Jordan Skipper-Brown each had a pair of blocks while JaQualis Matlock added the other.  EIU finished with 12 blocks on the night, Jonson led the way with five.

Josiah Wallace would give the Panthers a 52-51 lead with 5:35 to play as the junior guard led all scorers with 19 points.  Wallace was the only Panther in double figures.  Johnson was second on the team with eight points while four players each had seven points.
EIU shot 50 percent from the floor in the opening half but trailed 29-28 at the break.  EIU would finish the game at 51.1 percent from the field.  Skipper-Brown finished with 12 rebounds as EIU won the battle on the glass by a 43-33 margin.