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CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois (2-14, 1-7 OVC) could not overcome a hot start by Tennessee Martin (8-9, 4-3 OVC) as the Skyhawks emerged with a 69-63 win on Thursday night at Lantz Arena, their first win in Charleston since the 2001-02 season.
After trailing 38-20 at the half, EIU slowly cut into the UTM lead as Jon'Tee Willhite came off the bench to score 13 of his team high 16 points. Willhite converted a lay-up and 3-pointer to pull the Panthers to within five points with 1:52 left. Julio Anthony would then knock down two free throws to trim the Skyhawks lead to 64-61 with 1:16 left.
The Panthers appeared to have a trap on UTM's Lester Hudson at halfcourt, but the nation's No. 2 scorer was fouled and knocked down two free throws to keep the Skyhawks ahead for good. Hudson showed in the first 20 minutes why he is a candidate for OVC Player of the Year as he scored 20 of his game high 29 points. He also pulled down 10 rebounds despite not playing much of the second half with a sore lower leg.
EIU's top scorer Romain Martin returned after a two-game absence and showed signs of the layoff missing all ten of his shots to go scoreless for only the second time in his Eastern Illinois career. Martin had missed the last two EIU games with a sore tendon in his foot.
Three EIU players tried to pick up the scoring deficit as Anthony added 16 points while Bobby Catchings had 14. Anthony has now reached double figures in three straight games extending his consecutive free throw streak to 31 in a row.
Joe Bailey joined Hudson in double digits for UTM as the guard drained 5-of-7 shots from 3-point range to finish with 15 points. The Skyhawks hit 45 percent from long range while EIU shot 20 percent.
The Panthers continue their two-game homestand with a Saturday night game against Eastern Kentucky.
