EIU Men Win; Women Fall to SIUE

CHARLESTON, Ill. - SIUE men's basketball dropped its season finale on the road Saturday at Eastern Illinois, falling 61-46. The loss drops SIUE out of contention for next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. The Cougars end the season with a record of 9-18 overall and 5-11 in the OVC.

Eastern Illinois improved to 11-20 overall and 6-10 in the OVC. The Panthers will have the No. 7 seed at the tournament.

"We didn't deserve to win today. Eastern did," SIUE Head Coach Lennox Forrester said. "Give a lot of credit to them. I was very disappointed how we played as a team."
SIUE trailed 40-16 at halftime after connecting on just 6 of 23 first half attempts from the field and turning the ball over 10 times in the first 20  minutes.

"We had 10 turnovers, they had five steals," Forrester added. "We were just settling for jump shots. We weren't trying to get to the basket. We were very soft."

The Cougars shot 52.2 percent (12-23) from the floor in the second half and outscored EIU 30-21. SIUE committed just four turnovers in the second half, while forcing seven by the Panthers. Forrester said it was a case of too little, too late.

"You don't walk in and give anyone a 20-something point lead on their home floor and expect to come back," he said.

Senior Mark Yelovich, playing his final game in a Cougar uniform, led all players with 16 points and six rebounds. Yelovich scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and was 6 of 9 from the field in the last 20 minutes.

SIUE Women 70, EIU 62 (OT)

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE women's basketball gained momentum heading into next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a thrilling 70-62 overtime triumph at Eastern Illinois.

Teutopolis' graduate Jessie Wendte tallied seven points for SIUE. She connected on three of six from the field and one of two from three-point range.

SIUE, 15-13 overall and 9-7 in the OVC, earned the No. 6 seed for its first-ever appearance at the league tournament. The Cougars will play Tennessee State, 13-14 overall and 9-7 in the OVC, Wednesday in the first round at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn. Game time is 2 p.m.
 
The other first round game is fifth-seeded Eastern Kentucky against eighth-seeded Murray State at noon.