EASTERN ILLINOIS (13-11, 6-5 OVC) at Austin Peay (17-7, 9-2 OVC)
Saturday, February 9 • 3:45 pm
Clarksville, Tenn. • Dunn Center
EIU GAME NOTES: PDF Link
RADIO: Hit Mix 88.9 FM
TV: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: www.letsgopeay.com
SERIES RECORD: 51st meeting, APSU leads 32-18
LAST MEETING: @EIU 85, APSU 83 on Jan. 19, 2019
GAME 25
Eastern Illinois faces a team tied at the top of the Ohio Valley Conference standings for the second straight game as the Panthers travel to Austin Peay on Saturday afternoon. EIU lost at Murray State, 86-75, on Thursday night as the Panthers hit a late cold spell from the floor after holding a seven-point lead in the second half. EIU is now 13-11 overall, 6-5 in the OVC as the Panthers sit alone in fifth place in the OVC. Austin Peay enters at 17-7 overall, 9-2 in the OVC after the Governors beat SIUE on Thursday. APSU is one of three teams (Murray State, Belmont) currently tied for first in the OVC. EIU beat APSU in the first meeting this year, 85-83, in Charleston.
SHAREEF ON THE ASSIST
Guard
Shareef Smith has been solid protecting and distributing the basketball for the Panthers over the past several games. Smith finished Thursday night's game at Murray State with five assists and one turnover. Last Saturday against Morehead State, Smith dished out seven assists with one turnover. The junior guard has now had six straight games with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio with 32 assists and nine turnovers during the time frame. The run started for Smith on Jan. 19 against Austin Peay when he had nine assists and two turnovers. In the win Smith hit the game winner for the Panthers.
BENCH PRODUCTION KEY FOR THE PANTHERS
Eastern Illinois once again had solid bench production as the Panthers finished with a 26-6 advantage in bench production.
Cam Burrell had 11 points off the bench as all five players that came off the bench scored at least two points. For the season EIU's bench has outscored its opponents bench production by a total of 84 points for an average of 3.5 points per game.
Ben Harvey is the Panthers top scorer for the season off the bench with 9.3 points per game which ranks third overall on the EIU squad.
UP NEXT
Thursday, February 14 at SIUE - 5:30 pm (ESPN+)
