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Photo Gallery (by
Sandy King)
CHARLESTON, Ill. –
Shareef Smith came up with a steal and made a game tying lay-up with six seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for Eastern Illinois on Thursday night. The Panthers then doubled up UT Martin in the extra period to win 92-87 at Lantz Arena.
EIU improved to 8-6 overall, 1-0 in the OVC. UTM is now 5-7 overall, 0-1 in the league.
UT Martin led by six points with one minute remaining in regulation after Delfincko Bogan connected on a 3-pointer that made it 80-74. The Panthers would finish the final minute with an 8-2 run to tie the game at 82-82 after 40 minutes of action. Smith had two lay-ups to start and finish the run while
Josiah Wallace and
Ben Harvey both knocked down free throws. Preston Parks sank a pair of free throws to account for UTM's scoring.
In the overtime period
Mack Smith and
Rade Kukobat both dropped in 3-pointers while Harvey and
Shareef Smith converted at the foul line to give EIU its first OVC opening win in the last four seasons.
Shareef Smith had 16 points and six assists while Kukobat scored 14 points off the bench.
Wallace carried the Panthers offense in the first half as he scored 18 of his game-high 27 points to give the Panthers a 38-37 lead at the break. The lead changed hands four times with two additional ties in the first half. UTM was able to convert ten EIU turnovers into 15 first half points as they had eight of their 11 steals in the opening half.
The Panthers extended their lead to seven points just over five minutes into the second half on a
Cam Burrell jumper from the top of the key. UT Martin slowly crawled back into the contest with good outside shooting. Bogan gave the Skyhawks the lead with 10:34 to play on a 3-pointer. Bogan was one of five UTM players in double figures with 15 points.
Another 3-pointer by Bogan with 7:01 to play pushed the Skyhawks lead to nine points at 67-58. UTM finished the night 15-of-41 from 3-point range. Parks had five 3-pointers finishing with 21 points while Kevin Little had four 3-pointers to add 12 points.
Mack Smith rounded out the double figure scorers for EIU with 12 points, all coming on 3-pointers. Fatodd Lewis just missed a double-double for UTM with 14 points, nine rebounds.