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EASTERN ILLINOIS (7-14, 4-5) vs SIU Edwardsville (8-14, 4-4)

Feb. 1, 2014 • 2 p.m. 
Lantz Arena (5,300) • Charleston, Ill.
Radio: Hit Mix 88.9 FM • TV: WEIU
(Mike Bradd & Jack Ashmore)

BASKETBALL PROMOTIONS
• EIU will welcome FCA on Saturday for its annual day – area Fellowship of Christian Athlete members take part in this day
• EIU will have its annual Little Pink's Day – area children will dance with current EIU Pink Panther members
• EIU will have its annual Scout Day – area scouts will attend the game
• OVC Medal of Honor – EIU will recognize its OVC Medal of Honor award winners at the game
• Win with Buffalo Wild Wings, if the Panthers make six 3-pointers and win, every EIU student wins a coupon for six free wings from Buffalo Wild Wings

THE OPENING TIP
The Panther men's basketball team returns to Ohio Valley Conference play on Saturday, Feb. 1 as they play host to SIU Edwardsville. EIU is 7-14 (4-5 OVC) and SIUE is 8-14 (4-4 OVC).
 
SIUE ranks second in the OVC West Division Standings while EIU ranks third. Both teams won their last conference game with the Panthers defeating Southeast Missouri and SIUE defeating UT Martin. Saturday's contest is the first of two meetings between the two schools with EIU making the return trip to Edwardsville on March 1 in its regular-season finale.
 
The Panthers are led by second-year head coach Jay Spoonhour. He has posted a 124-67 record in seven seasons as a head coach and an 18-35 record at EIU.
 
Lennox Forrester has a 67-124 record in seven seasons as a head coach, all coming at SIUE. He was previously an assistant coach at Bradley (2002-07) and Evansville (1992-02).
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH SIUE
EIU leads the all-time series with SIUE, 5-2. The two teams split the series a year ago with both squads winning their home game. The Panthers have won three of the last four meetings in the series.
 
Sherman Blanford averaged seven points and 7.5 rebounds per game against the Cougars last season while Alex Austin added 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Josh Piper chipped in 7.5 points per game a year ago versus SIUE.
 
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
SIUE is coming off a 77-48 non-conference win against Crowley's Ridge (NCCAA) on Wednesday night. The Cougars are 1-9 in road games this season and rank eighth in the OVC in both scoring offense (72 ppg) and scoring defense (75.5 ppg).
 
Donivine Stewart is the lone Cougar averaging 10 or more points per game, averaging 11.8 points per game while adding a team-high 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Keaton Jackson adds 8.5 points per game and ranks first in the conference in field-goal percentage (.737) and second in blocks (2.1 bpg).
 
On the glass, Jackson also leads the team with 4.7 rebounds per game. Maurice Wiltz averages nine points per game and ranks second in the OVC in three-point field-goal percentage (.476).
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers dropped an 82-68 non-conference matchup with Cleveland State on Tuesday night. Dylan Chatman scored a season-high 19 points in the loss and EIU posted a .449 field-goal percentage.
 
UP NEXT
EIU continues its four-game homestand against UT Martin (Feb. 6) and Southeast Missouri (Feb. 8). The Panthers then play their final four OVC contests on the road starting with a trip to Austin Peay on Feb. 13.
 
IN THE PAINT
• Dylan Chatman scored a season-high 19 points against Cleveland State, going 6-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-8 from behind the arc. The junior guard has averaged 16 points per game in the team's last two outings while going 10-for-17 from the floor and 8-for-12 from three-point range.
 
• Dylan Chatman knocked down four three pointers against Cleveland State, the third time he has hit four three pointers in a game this season. He has a made a team-high 29 three pointers with a .414 three-point field-goal percentage, the sixth best mark in the conference. In OVC only games, he ranks third with a .474 three-point field-goal percentage.
 
• Dylan Chatman had four steals against Cleveland State, moving his total steals to 24 on the year. He ranks second on the team in the category behind Reggie Smith who has 27 steals to rank 12^th in the conference.
 
• Sherman Blanford scored in double figures for the 13^th time this season against Cleveland State and 32^nd time in his two-year career with EIU. He ranks second in the team in scoring (11.5 ppg) and first in field-goal percentage (.512) and rebounding (6.7 rpg). In OVC only games, he nearly averages a double-double with 13.4 points and eight rebounds per game.
 
• In the Panthers last seven outings, Sherman Blanford has averaged 12.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game to go along with a .571 field-goal percentage.
 
• Luke Piotrowski has averaged 8.3 points per game with a .625 field-goal percentage (25-for-40) in the team's last seven outings. He previously only averaged 2.9 points per game.
 
• Chris Olivier scored 11 points against Cleveland State, his third consecutive game with 10 or more points. The junior forward has averaged 10.6 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game since joining the Panthers at Wright State on Dec. 19 after previously sitting out to due to NCAA transfer rules.
 
• EIU ranks second in the conference in blocks, averaging five blocks per game. Chris Olivier leads the team in blocks with 18 while Luke Piotrowski is second with 17.
 
• EIU is 4-6 in home games this season, averaging 69.8 points per game. Reggie Smith has a team-best 14.6 points per game at home and has increased his average to 18 points per game in home OVC games.
 
• The Panthers eight steals against Cleveland State was their second most steals in a game this year. EIU's season high of 10 steals came against Roosevelt on Nov. 23.
 
• Reggie Smith leads the Panthers in scoring (13.2 ppg) and assists (3.2 apg). The junior guard has led the team in scoring eight times this year.
 
• The Panthers rank last in the conference in scoring offense (65 ppg) and 11^th in scoring margin (- 7.6).
 
EASTERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH JAY SPOONHOUR
Jay Spoonhour enters his second season as the Panthers head coach having been hired on April 9, 2012.  Spoonhour was previously 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. Spoonhour's career mark is 124-67, 24-39 at NCAA Division I.
 
FATHER, SON COMBINATIONS
Jay Spoonhour and his late father, Charlie Spoonhour, are one of several father/son combinations that have coached in collegiate basketball as they have combined to win 393 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 1,121 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. (through games on Jan. 26, 2014)