SIUE Men Nab Win, EIU Falls, Lake Land Hires New Coach

With the win, the Cougars improved to 4-4 overall and are 2-0 in OVC play for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
Tennessee State fell to 2-10 overall and 1-8 in OVC play.

"What can you say," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone quipped. "Our guys fought from the jump. What this team has done and what our administration has done to allow us to get to this point…it gives us a lot of pride."

Early on, the shots weren't falling for the Cougars, who found themselves down by as many as 14 with 3:54 to play in the first half. SIUE then scored the next 12 points to pull within two (27-25) at halftime.

"(The run) was huge," Barone said. "Colin Schneider on our staff called a particular little action and we kept going to it. It was a heck of a read. I thought Courtney (Carter) controlled the end of the half really well."
T

he Cougars extended the run to 18 points, scoring the first six points of the second half to pull ahead 31-27. They never trailed in the game again.

"It allowed us to feel normal again," Barone said of the run. "We were slipping and throwing the ball around and missing some layups. We had some bad rotations. Our guys decided, enough was enough. Let's get back to what we've always done."

SIUE opened its largest lead at 15 points (57-42) after a three-point play by Mike Adewunmi with 6:06 left, but it was Tennessee State who answered with a run. The Tigers went on a 15-0 run to tie the score. TSU freshman Marcus Fitzgerald scored 13 of the 15 points including the layup to tie the score at 57 with 4:01 left.

He finished with a game-high 32 points.

"Fitzgerald is a heck of a player," Barone said. "We tried making a few adjustments on him."

Adewunmi responded for the Cougars with a three-pointer from the right wing to regain the lead with 3:37 to play.

Fitzgerald tied the score at 64 with 1:35 to play, before a Shamar Wright tip dunk put the Cougars back on top 66-64.

Fitzgerald went to the free throw line with 2.2 seconds left with a chance to tie, but missed the second free throw. Adewunmi hit one of two free throws with asecond to play for the final score.

Adewunmi led the Cougars with 18 points and added eight rebounds. Shamar Wright pitched in 14 points and career-best and team-high nine rebounds.

SIUE connected on 38 percent of its shots, but knocked down 48 percent in the second half. The Cougars were 6-24 from three-point range and 11-23 from the free throw line.

"We got tired and our free throws were evidence of that," Barone added. "Our guys were resilient through a lot including the missed free throws. I was really proud of these guys and how they showed up tonight."
Michael Matas provided a spark off the bench, scoring nine, going five-for-five at the free throw line and collecting four rebounds in nine minutes of play.

"He hasn't played significantly since the game against (University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy) and yet he was ready," Barone said. "He has stayed ready. He is an ultimate teammate. He is a program guy. He stuck to the game plan.

The Cougars will stay in Nashville to face Belmont Saturday afternoon.

Belmont 79, Eastern Illinois 66

NASHVILLE –  JaCobi Wood sparked a Belmont run midway through the second half as the Bruins used that run to knock off Eastern Illinois,79-66 , on Thursday night at the Curb Event Center. 

EIU fell to 5-9 overall, 2-5 in the OVC.  Belmont won its 12th straight game improving to 15-1 overall, 9-0. 

EIU won the battle on the glass in the first half and behind a strong inside performance by Sammy Friday IV, the Panthers trailed by two at the half, 29-27. 

Friday had 12 first half points going 6-of-7 on field goals.  He would finish with 20 points going 9-of-12 from the field. Friday added ten rebounds for his second double-double of the season.   EIU held a 25-16 rebound margin in the first half.   

Marvin Johnson pulled down nine rebounds in the first half.  He finished with ten rebounds and 14 points for his third double-double of the season.   
Midway through the second half Wood sparked an 8-0 run with a lay-up.  His 3-pointer made it 59-47 with 9:36 to play. Wood finished with 17 points one of three Belmont players in double figures.  Wood scored eight of his 16 second half points during the Bruins run. 

In the big Belmont run, the Bruins made ten consecutive shots as they extended the lead to 20 points. Belmont shot 66 percent for the second half.    

Josiah Wallace returned the line-up for EIU finishing with ten points.   EIU ended the game with a 42-26 advantage on the glass but had 20 turnovers leading to 23 points off turnovers for the Bruins. 

Luke Smith added 12 points for Belmont.  Nick Muszynksi finished with 10. 

Women -- Belmont 63, EIU 49

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Eastern Illinois(6-8, 4-5 OVC) fell to  Belmont (5-3, 2-1 OVC), 63-49. Eastern Illinois' 22 turnovers cost the Panthers in Thursday's game.

Abby Wahl led the Panthers in scoring with 14 points. She also led the Panthers in rebounds with seven. The Panthers will stay in Nashville to face the Tigers of Tennessee State Saturday, Jan. 23, at 1 p.m.

QUICK STATS

Karle Pace passed the 1,300 career-point mark in today's game

Brianna Mishler played in her first game since Jan. 2, against Tennessee Tech

Twenty-two turnovers are the second-most in a game this season (24 against Northwestern)

Lariah Washington scored double-digit points for the 30th time in her career.

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER

The Bruins' zone defense immediately caused issues for the Panthers with six turnovers in the quarter that allowed Belmont to score sevenquick points. The Panthers were led in scoring by Morgan Litwiller, who finished the quarter with three points. The Bruins led 16-9 going into the second quarter.

Three-pointers were an issue for the Panthers' defense. The Bruins took a total of 16 three-pointers in the first half, but the Panthers countered with a barrage of inside points by Wahl. Adjustments on the defense forced five turnovers for the Bruins. Wahl finished the half with eight points and was tied for the most points in the half with Washington. The Panthers shot 42% from the field, and Belmont ended the half shooting 41%. Belmont led 31-27. 

Four early Panther turnovers forced Kyley Simmons to take a timeout to readjust and calm the team down. The Bruins had scored four unanswered points while the Panthers hadn't managed a shot attempt. The third quarter struggles for the Panthers reared their ugly head. The Panthers scored eight points on the quarter in comparison to the Bruins 15 points. Eight turnovers for the Panthers gave Belmont a 46-35 lead going into the final quarter.

The Panthers started to turn it around on the offensive end, as they scored 14 in the quarter, but the Bruins outlasted the Panthers.

Eastern Illinois was led in scoring by Wahl, with 17 points, including four points in the final quarter.

At Mattoon

Lake Land College’s men’s basketball promotes Jullian Larry to head coach.