Box Score
MACOMB, Ill. –  Eastern Illinois put together a dominating second half as the Panthers held on to the Old Railsplitter Axe with a 85-47 win over Western Illinois on Monday night at Western Hall in Macomb.
EIU improved to 7-4 on the season while WIU fell to 2-7.
With early foul trouble to leading scorer
George Dixon, it was a combination of different post players that helped Eastern Illinois take a 40-27 halftime lead.
Braxton Shaw came off the bench to score an early five points to go with a rebound and steal.Â
JaQualis Matlock then carried the load in the post with 12 first half points on 5-of-6 shooting. It was Matlock's first double figure game of the season as he finished the night with 14.
A back-and-forth contest turned in the Panthers favor in the first half following a 9-0 run that extended EIU's 10-9 lead to double figures. Shaw,
Dondre Duffus and
Kashawn Charles all scored during the run as EIU had 16 first-half bench points. Charles knocked down a 3-pointer, one of three he had during the game.
EIU's defense was solid once again in the first half forcing nine WIU turnovers holding the Leathernecks to 37 percent shooting. WIU ended the game with 19 turnovers leading to 22 EIU points while shooting 29 percent for the game.Â
EIU continued to apply pressure on both ends of the floor in the second half pushing the lead to 20 points at 51-31 with a 10-0 run capped by free throws by
Jordan Skipper-Brown. Skipper-Brown finished with ten points in the game, one of three Panthers in double figures.
Shareef Smith extended the run to 15-0 with a 3-pointer before WIU could finally stop the run on free throws by CJ Duff with 13 minutes left in the game.
EIU would eventually blow open the game as the run ended at 26-6 with EIU leading 68-37. When it was all said and done, EIU outscored WIU 45-20 in the second half and the Panthers posted the largest margin of victory in the series that has been played 164 times.Â
Josiah Wallace was the final EIU player in double figures with 13 points. With the win EIU head coach
Jay Spoonhour won his 100th game at EIU becoming the sixth Panthers head coach with 100 wins.
Ben Pyle led WIU with 14 points going 4-of-7 from 3-point range.