EIU Men Fall On Last Second Shot, Women Also Lose

EIU fell to 5-6 overall, 2-2 in the OVC.  APSU improved to 7-4 overall, 3-2 in the OVC.

Taylor’s dramatic shot came after Eastern Illinois rallied from 14 points down to tie the game at 71-71.  Mack Smith hit back-to-back three-pointers with 1:05 and 13 seconds remaining in the game to knot the contest. Smith led EIU with 16 points as four Panthers scored in double figures.

APSU led 35-29 at the half with Taylor collecting his eighth double-double of the season in the first 20 minutes. Taylor had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the first half. He finished the game with 38 points and 17 rebounds as the only APSU player in double figures.

The Governors stretched the lead out to 14 points early in the second half and kept the margin in double figures until the 7:29 mark of the second half.
Smith hit a three-pointer for the Panthers with 7:29 left in the game to get the margin to single digits. During the game, Smith extended his NCAA record streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer to 91 games.

EIU was unable to get the lead down to single digits until the Smith three-pointer with 1:05 remaining setting up a dramatic final 65 seconds of action.
Barlow Alleruzzo IV came off the bench for EIU to score 13 points going 3-of-4 from three-point range. Marvin Johnson had 12 points, seven assists and five steals. Josiah Wallace had 14 points, all in the first half, as he left the game with 14:39 remaining following an injury.

Austin Peay finished with a 43-28 margin on the glass based largely on Taylor’s efforts, 14 of the 43 rebounds were on the offensive glass.

Women -- Austin Peay 77. EIU 68

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- The Eastern Illinois Panthers (3-7, 1-4 OVC) fell to the No. 1 ranked OVC team, Austin Peay (7-2, 5-0) by a 77-68 score.
The stout defense of the Governors caused the Panthers fits early in the game, and although EIU fought valiantly, the squad was unable to snap its losing streak.

Abby Wahl led the Panthers in scoring for the second game-in-a-row with 19. The Panthers will travel to SIUE on Monday, Jan. 11, to face the Cougars at 1 p.m.

QUICK STATS

The last time the Panthers lost four-in-a-row was 2018-19

The Panthers bench was outscored, 45-5; the largest margin this season

Kira Arthofer tied her career-high in points with 12 against the Governors

Twenty turnovers is the most in a conference game this season

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER

Austin Peay ran its hardy defense against the Panthers early on in the game, and it proved to be as good as advertised. The Panthers struggled to get any sort of run going against the stout defense of the Governors. Wahl ended the quarter with seven points. The Panthers managed to get some much-needed help off the bench in the form of Taylor Steele and Jordyn Hughes. Austin Peay held the lead, 19-11.

The Panthers came roaring back in the second quarter. EIU scored 18 points in comparison to Austin Peay's 14, but the Governors were still able to hold the 33-29 lead going into halftime. Wahl put up another nine points in the second quarter putting her point total at 16 points early on in the game. The bench combo of Hughes and Steele both played valuable minutes for the Panthers but were unable to score much for EIU. A good second quarter showed promise going into the second half.

The Panthers battled well against the No. 1 team in the OVC coming out of halftime. Lariah Washington and Karle Pace each scored six points and kept EIU in the game. Eastern Illinois shot 86% from the field in the third quarter but were still unable to come away with the lead. The Governors were able to convert on the Panthers' mistakes which allowed Austin Peay to hold a 53-48 lead going into the final quarter.

Eastern Illinois battled in the fourth quarter; the team was never out of the game. Washington led the Panthers in scoring in the final quarter with nine points making her total 17 points.

EIU fell to the No. 1 ranked team in the OVC to push its losing streak to four-in-a-row. The Panthers will face SIUE on the road Monday, Jan. 11, at 1 p.m.