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EASTERN ILLINOIS (3-16, 0-6) at Austin Peay (5-14, 1-4)

Jan. 19, 2013  •  7:30 p.m.
Dunn Center  •  Clarksville, Tenn.
Radio: Hit Mix 88.9 FM  •  TV: OVC Digital Network
Mike Bradd


GAME 20
Eastern Illinois continues Ohio Valley Conference West Division action on Saturday as the Panthers visit Austin Peay.  After the road game at APSU, EIU will close out the season with six of its final nine games at home in Lantz Arena with eight of those nine games against OVC West Division foes.  The Panthers dropped to 3-16 overall, 0-6 in the OVC on Thursday night with a 70-49 loss at Murray State.  EIU was tied with the Racers three minutes into the second half before MSU hit 9-of-12 3-pointers to close the second half and pull away.  Austin Peay dropped to 5-14 overall, 1-4 in the OVC with a home loss to SIU Edwardsville on Thursday.  The Governors are now 1-2 at home in OVC play with the win an overtime victory over Morehead State on January 9.

BLANFORD SCORING OFF THE BENCH
Eastern Illinois head coach Jay Spoonhour shook up the Panthers line-up three games ago bringing junior forward Sherman Blanford off the bench.  Blanford has responded with three straight double figure games to average 12.3 points per game in those contests.  Blanford is shooting 57 percent from the floor in those games with 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game.  On the season Blanford has scored in double figures in four straight games and 11 of 19 games.  He leads the team in rebounding at 5.3 per game and is second on the squad with 37 assists.  Blanford's top scoring was 18 points at Drake.

AKERS LEADS OVC IN ASSIST-TO-TURNOVER RATIO
Senior guard Austin Akers had five assists with no turnovers on Thursday night at Murray State.  Akers leads the OVC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.7-to-1 which is 29th in the NCAA.  In six games of OVC play Akers has 29 assists and 8 turnovers for a 3.6-to-1 ratio.  Akers has ten games with five or more assists this season with a high of seven at Eastern Michigan.  In three of those five assist games, Akers has finished with no turnovers (at Stony Brook - 6 assists; at Tennessee State - 5 assists; at Murray State - 5 assists)

UP NEXT
Saturday - January 24 vs. UT Martin (7 p.m.) - Wounded Warriors Night

LAST TIME OUT
Eastern Illinois used an 11-0 run midway through the first half and was leading Murray State until the final minutes of the first half.  The Panthers then tied the game at 31-31 three minutes into the second half.  Murray State responded by hitting 9-of-12 3-pointers in the second half to pull away for the 70-49 victory over the Panthers.  Sherman Blanford scored 11 points off the bench while Josh Piper added 11.  The Panthers had eight assists and one turnover in the first half to trail 27-24.  EIU finished with 17 assists and eight turnovers.  Austin Akers had six points with five assists and no turnovers.

SCOUTING AUSTIN PEAY
Austin Peay enters the weekend having lost 10 of its last 11 games including two straight home OVC losses.  The Governors are led by outside shooters Travis Betran and Anthony Campbell.  Betran is averaging 17.7 points per game shooting 45 percent from 3-point range with 56 made 3-pointers.  Campbell is shooting 40 percent from 3-point range with 41 made 3-pointers and a 14.6 points per game average.  As a team APSU is shooting 41 percent from 3-point range.  The Governors have been plagued by the second highest number of turnovers in the OVC while being out-rebounded by 4.3 rebounds per game.

SERIES INFORMATION
This will be 37th meeting between Austin Peay and Eastern Illinois.  The Governors hold a 23-13 series lead including a 22-9 series lead during OVC games.  EIU has won only twice in the Dunn Center with the last win in Clarksville coming on Jan. 27, 1998, a 90-80 EIU win.  APSU has won 13 of the last 14 meetings between the two schools with the EIU win coming on Feb. 25, 2010 in Lantz Arena.

IN THE PAINT
• Morris Woods was 3-of-6 from the field at Murray State finishing with 8 points.  Woods is shooting 55.3 percent in OVC play and leads the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game in six conference games.  Woods is averaging 8.6 ppg for the year.

• Taylor Jones knocked down 2-of-5 from 3-point range at Murray State.  Jones dropped to third in the OVC in 3-point shooting for conference games.  He is shooting 55.6 percent from beyond the arc averaging 9.2 points per game for OVC action.

• Alex Austin knocked down a 3-pointer at Murray State as the freshman guard has now scored in all 19 games this season.  He is fourth on the team in scoring at 8.5 points per game.  He has five double figure games with a high of 21 vs. Toledo.

• Malcolm Herron matched his season high in assists with three at Murray State.  Herron was part of a 17 assist night by the Panthers.  Herron's other three assist game this year was in the win over Houston Baptist when he scored 12 points.

• After having his streak of 15 straight games with a made 3-pointer snapped against Jacksonville State, sophomore Josh Piper began a new streak at Murray State.  Piper is 7th in the OVC in 3-point shooting at 42.7 percent (32-of-75).

• Eastern Illinois has increased its team field goal percentage during Ohio Valley Conference play.  The Panthers currently rank sixth in the league shooting 44.7 percent from the floor.  Part of that increase is due to the shooting of Morris Woods and Taylor Jones.  Woods is 12th in OVC play in shooting at 55.3 percent while Jones is 15th at 52.8 percent. 

PANTHERS SIGN WISCONSIN POST
Eastern Illinois head coach Jay Spoonhour signed Wisconsin post player Jake Verhagen as the first player in the 2013 class.  Verhagen is a 6'6 post at Appleton West HS where he averaged 16 points and 7 rebounds as a junior earning All-Fox Valley League honors.  He is rated the 26th best player in the state.  Verhagen is averaging 13 points per game for Appleton West as a senior.

EASTERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH JAY SPOONHOUR
Jay Spoonhour enters his first season as the Panthers head coach having been hired on April 9, 2012.  Spoonhour was most recently the head coach at Moberly Area Community College where he coached for three seasons.  He is a long time assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level and served as the interim head coach at UNLV to complete the 2004 season posting a 6-4 record and taking the team to the finals of the Mountain West Conference along with an NIT appearance.  In 2001 Spoonhour was named the National Junior College Coach of the Year leading Wabash Valley College to the NJCAA National Championship with a 36-1 record.  He is the son of the late legendary coach Charlie Spoonhour.  Spoonhour played basketball at Pittsburg State earning his degree in 1994.  He was an honorable mention All-Conference selection.  He has assistant coaching stops at Central Missouri, Saint Louis, UNLV, Missouri and Texas San Antonio.  Spoohour's career mark is 109-48, 9-20 at NCAA Division I.

PANTHERS PICKED 5TH IN OVC WEST
Eastern Illinois was picked to finish in 5th place in the Ohio Valley Conference West Division this season.  The Panthers finished 10th last season in the one division format missing the OVC Tournament.  With the addition of Belmont to the OVC this season, the conference will play in two six team divisions.  Murray State was picked to win the West Division followed by Southeast Missouri, Austin Peay, SIU Edwardsville, EIU and UT Martin.  Belmont was selected to win the East Division after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference last year.

OVC GROWS, SPLITS TO DIVISIONS
The Ohio Valley Conference grew to 12 members with the addition of Belmont for the 2012-13 school year.  The OVC will now play in Divisions - East & West for men's and women's basketball.  Each school will play a home & home series within its division and one game against opponents from the opposite division (3 home games, 3 road games).  The two eight schools in the conference based on record will advance to the OVC Tournament in Nashville with the division winners seeded first and second.  SIU Edwardsville is now eligible to play in the OVC Tournament.  Due to NCAA APR penalties, Jacksonville State is not eligible for the OVC Tournament this season.

FATHER, SON COMBINATIONS
Jay Spoonhour and his late father, Charlie Spoonhour, are one of several father/son combinations that have coached in collegiate basketball.  Entering the season the two have combined to win 376 NCAA basketball games, all coming at the Division I level.  Only 17 father/son combinations have ever won 600 or more games with Eddie, Scott and Sean Sutton topping the list with 1,091 wins between the three.  Scott is currently the head coach at Oral Roberts.  Only three father/son combinations have ever won more than 1,000 games at the NCAA level.

OVC DIGITAL NETWORK
Basketball fans can watch each Eastern Illinois home game and all OVC road games for free online this year on the OVC Digital Network streaming platform.  Fans can view games by visiting - www.ovcdigitalnetwork.com