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EASTERN ILLINOIS (4-16, 1-6) vs. UT Martin (4-15, 1-6)

Jan. 24, 2013  •  7 p.m.
Lantz Arena  •  Charleston, Ill.
Radio: Hit Mix 88.9 FM  •  TV: WEIU
Mike Bradd & Jack Ashmore


GAME 21
Eastern Illinois returns home to Lantz Arena coming off the program's first win at Austin Peay since January 1998.  The Panthers beat the Governors on Saturday night to improve to 1-6 in the OVC and 4-16 overall.  Three players scored in double figures to help EIU pick up the road win, which was the first true road win of the year for EIU.  The Panthers will play six of their final eleven games at home all against conference opponents.  Eight of the nine remaining OVC games are against the OVC West Division. EIU has two non-conference games on the road at Chicago State and at the ESPNU Bracketbuster.  UT Martin also enters at 1-6 in the OVC and 4-15 overall.  The Skyhawks have lost three in a row with their one win coming against Austin Peay in overtime.

BLANFORD WINS OVC NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Sherman Blanford was named the Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week after helping the Panthers split a pair of road games last week.  Blanford had his first career double-double on Saturday in the win over Austin Peay finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals.  He added 11 points at Murray State to average 15 points per game for the week.  The junior has scored in double figures in five straight games averaging 14 points per game in that stretch while shooting 53 percent from the floor.  In OVC play he leads the team at 11.1 points per game.  Blanford just missed double-doubles earlier this year at Eastern Michigan (14 pts / 9 reb) and Rochester College (11 pts, 9 reb).

PIPER STARTS THEM ALL
Eastern Illinois head coach Jay Spoonhour has used five different starting line-up combinations this season.  The one constant all year has been sophomore Josh Piper with starts in all 20 games.  Piper is coming off a 20 point night at Austin Peay as he leads EIU in scoring at 10.6 points per game.  Piper is currently 5th in the OVC in 3-point shooting (43.4 percent) and 10th in field goal percentage (48.1 percent).  His high this year was 28 points versus Texas Pan American.

UP NEXT
Saturday - January 26 vs. Southeast Missouri (6 p.m.) - Coaches vs. Cancer

LAST TIME OUT
Eastern Illinois had three players score in double figures as the Panthers jumped out early on Austin Peay to capture a 77-67 win.  It was the first win for EIU in Clarksville, Tenn., since January 1998.  The Panthers led 37-25 at halftime after shooting 54 percent from the floor.  APSU closed to within nine points several times in the second half but could not get closer.  Sherman Blanford had his first career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.  Josh Piper scored 20 while Taylor Jones added 14.  EIU won the battle on the glass by a 33-21 margin including 16 offensive rebounds.

SCOUTING UT MARTIN
UT Martin enters the game with the same Ohio Valley Conference record as Eastern Illinois with both schools sporting 1-6 conference records with the one win over Austin Peay.  The Skyhawks are led by Myles Taylor with 16.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.  Taylor has gone to the line 107 times and is shooting 80 percent from the stripe.  Mike Liabo is second on the team with 12.7 points per game having made 44 3-pointers.  UTM is shooting just 38 percent as a team and is being out scored by nearly 10 points per game. 

SERIES INFORMATION
This will be 35th meeting between Eastern Illinois and UT Martin with both teams having won 17 games in the series.  EIU swept the season series last year after UTM swept the season series in 2011.  EIU is 11-7 all-time against UTM in games played in Lantz Arena.  Six of the 34 meetings have gone to overtime with the last a 80-70 win by EIU in overtime on Jan. 12, 2006.

IN THE PAINT
• Taylor Jones closed out the Panthers win at Austin Peay making 7-of-8 free throws as he matched his career high with 14 points.  Jones is now 10-of-13 from the free throw line this year and 14-of-17 for his career.  Jones knocked down one 3-pointer as he ranks 5th in OVC games in 3-point shooting at 51.6 percent.

• Malcolm Herron came off the bench in EIU's win over Austin Peay to pull down seven rebounds as EIU won the battle on the glass by a 33-21 margin.  Three of Herron's seven boards were on the offensive end as he added six points. 

• Morris Woods scored nine points at Austin Peay as he continues to get to the free throw line.  Woods was 3-of-4 from the line on Saturday as he is shooting 76.7 percent from the free throw line in OVC play.  Woods has shot 84 free throws on the year and 30 during OVC play.  Woods is 11th in the OVC in free throws attempted.

• Austin Akers was 2-of-2 from the free throw line at Austin Peay as he has made 7-of-8 in the last three games.  Akers played the first 17 games of the year with only three free throw attempts.  The senior is currently 2nd in the OVC and 35th in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.6-to-1.  He has a 3.2-to-1 rate in OVC play.

• Freshman Alex Austin scored on a jumper at Austin Peay as he has now scored in all 20 of the Panthers games this season.  Austin is second in the OVC among freshman in scoring average at 8.2 points per game.  His high game this year was 21 points against Toledo.

• Freshman Cameron Harvey added a bucket off the bench at Austin Peay after scoring a season high seven points versus Jacksonville State. 

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 110-48, 10-20 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