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CHARLESTON, Ill. – Redshirt freshman James Hollowell set a school record with six blocked shots as Eastern Illinois (8-5, 2-1 OVC) held on to prevail in a defensive battle, 50-48, over Jacksonville State (5-7, 1-1 OVC) on Saturday night at Lantz Arena.
Trailing 27-20 at the half, Eastern Illinois opened the second half with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 29-29 as Jeremy Granger scored seven of his game-high 18 points in that run. Granger would connect on 5-of-7 from the field in the second half scoring 14 points as the Panthers shot 44 percent in the half. EIU would shoot 36 percent for the game.
The Panthers were up to the task on defense as they allowed Jacksonville State to shoot only 29 percent for the game including 22 percent in the second half. The Gamecocks missed their first nine shots of the second half but were able to tie the game based on getting to the free throw line a couple times in the drought. Jeremy Bynum tied the game 31-31 with 12:40 left in the game.
Jay Smith would drain a 3-pointer on the next EIU possession giving the Panthers the lead. The two teams would trade buckets over the next four minutes with JSU taking a 39-37 lead on a Jay-R Strowbridge 3-pointer. Strowbridge would knock down three of the Gamecocks five 3-pointers to finish with 11 points.
After EIU regained the lead on a Hollowell basket, Trenton Marshall gave the Gamecocks a 42-31 lead with 3:33 remaining. Hollowell answered for the Panthers on the next trip down the floor and Tyler Laser put EIU up for good with a 3-pointer that built EIU's lead to four points. JSU would trim the lead to one point two times in the final 24 seconds but EIU was able to hold on making three of four free throws
Hollowell finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds while Ousmane Cisse pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to go with six points.
Nick Murphy led JSU with 12 points and Stephen Hall added 10. The Gamecocks leading scorer, Marshall, was held to only three points, 16 points below his season average.
EIU returns to action on Monday night when they host Tennessee Tech at 7:30 p.m.
