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CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois had balanced scoring and dominated play on the glass as the Panthers picked up a 79-44 exhibition win over Eureka College on Friday evening.  EIU opens the regular season on Tuesday night at Texas.  The game will be televised nationally at 7 pm on the Longhorn Network and also available on the Watch ESPN App.
 
Eureka jumped out of the gate quickly building a 12-8 lead as Dakota Bennington had seven early points for the Red Devils.  EIU took the lead 13-12 at the 13:38 mark of the first half on a Josiah Wallace 3-pointer.  Ben Harvey followed with a 3-pointer as the Panthers went on a 21-0 run that included a couple of 3-pointers by Mack Smith.
 
EIU was 5-of-13 from the beyond the arc in the first half as they built a 42-16 lead at the break.  Josiah Wallace had ten of his game high 23 points in the first half while Mack Smith scored all 11 of his points for the game in the opening 20 minutes.
 
The Panthers defense limited Eureka to 19 percent shooting in the opening half and 28 percent for the game.  EIU had ten steals in the contest with Rade Kukobat getting four.
 
EIU dominated play on the glass with a 61-36 advantage.  JaQualis Matlock had 11 rebounds with seven coming on the offensive glass.  Kashawn Charles and Cam Burrell each pulled down eight rebounds.  Charles had all eight of his on the defensive end of the floor while Burrell had five offensive boards.
 
Kukobat was the third EIU player in double figures with ten points as 11 of the 13 players that saw time on the floor for EIU scored.
 
Bennington led Eureka with 17 points while Austin Juergens had 12 points.  Hank Thomas, the son of EIU All-Century guard Charlie Thomas, had eight points and six assists for the Red Devils.