East Central Reporter

Men's Basketball Opens Three Game Road Swing At SIUE

The Ohio Valley Conference race became a little more jumbled on Thursday night as two games separate the top six teams in the league and all ten schools are locked in a tight race to secure the eight spots for the OVC Tournament in Evansville.  EIU snapped a six-game losing skid with a 77-75 win over UT Martin as the Panthers moved into a three-way tie for eighth place in the OVC standings at 8-18 overall, 4-9 in the OVC.  EIU will now be looking to snap a 12 game OVC road losing streak when they head to SIUE on Saturday.  The Cougars won their third straight with a road win at Lindenwood as they moved into a three-way tie for second place.  SIUE enters at 17-9 overall, 8-5 in the OVC.

BALANCED SCORING DOES THE TRICK
Balanced scoring was key for Eastern Illinois on Thursday as the Panthers picked up a home win over UT Martin.  Four players scored in double figures for EIU with two starters in double figures and two players off the bench scoring in double figures.  Kinyon Hodges led the way with 14 points while Cameron Haffner scored 12.  Coming off the bench CJ Lane tossed in 11 points with Kyle Thomas adding ten.  This season EIU has had 11 of the 14 players on its roster score in double figures at least one time.  EIU currently leads the OVC in bench scoring averaging 26 points per game which ranks 34th in the NCAA.

EIU CHASING TEAM STEALS MARK
Eastern Illinois continues to chase its school record for steals in a season as the Panthers added eight more to the season total on Thursday night vs. UT Martin.  EIU leads the OVC with 224 steals this season which ranks 32nd in the NCAA in steals per game at 8.6 per contest.  EIU has had seven games with double figure steals this year.  The school record for steals is 250 set during the 1988-89 season.  The 224 steals this year is tied for the ninth most all-time.  EIU currently has three players in the OVC top ten in steals with Sincere Malone leading the OVC with 50 steals.  Yaakema Rose Jr., is second with 43 and Kinyon Hodges moved into tenth with 30 steals.  

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