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CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois won its third straight Ohio Valley Conference game as the Panthers continue to make a late season surge with a 73-66 win over SIU Edwardsville on Wednesday night.  EIU is now 12-14 on the season, 5-9 in the OVC.  SIUE dropped to 7-16, 5-9 in the league.

EIU had four players score in double figures led by Jeremy Granger with 24 points as the senior added six rebounds and three assists.  L.C. Doss came off the bench with 14 points as the Panthers out scored SIUE by a 20-0 margin in bench production.

SIUE shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half but EIU was able to get to the free throw line to take a 38-32 lead to the locker room.  EIU's biggest lead of the half was seven points on a 3-pointer by James Hollowell with 7:46 remaining that put EIU up 26-19.  Hollowell had 12 points.

Alfonzo McKinnie scored to open the half and extend EIU's lead to 40-32.  McKinnie had a dunk at the 11:59 mark giving the Panthers a 51-46 advantage.  SIUE went on a 10-0 run over the next 2:30 to take a 56-51 lead.  Jerome Jones had five of his team high 20 points during the run.  Mark Yelovich and Kris Davis also added buckets.

Yelovich's jumper at 6:01 gave SIUE a 60-57 lead before EIU tied the game at 61-61.  Granger then had a lay-up and pair of free throws to stake EIU to a four point lead with 2:55 remaining.  A three point play by Yelovich on the next possession closed the mark to one point before EIU was able to ice the game at the free throw line.  The Panthers made eight of nine free throws in the final 1:43 of the game.

Yelovich had 17 points while Davis had 11 for the Cougars.  SIUE ended the game shooting 48 percent from the field.

McKinnie was the fourth EIU player in double figures with ten points and nine rebounds.

The Panthers will host Illinois-Chicago on Saturday at 6 p.m. in this year's Sears Bracketbuster game.  It will be senior day for EIU as the Panthers will honor L.C. Doss, Jeremy Granger, Nick McFarlin and Zavier Sanders prior to the game.