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Box Score  |  Photo Gallery (by Sandy King)

CHARLESTON, Ill – Eastern Illinois men's basketball won its fourth straight game improving to 7-0 at home as the Panthers gutted out a 61-59 win over Southeast Missouri on Saturday afternoon in Lantz Arena.
 
EIU improved to 11-9 overall, 4-4 in the OVC.  SEMO fell to 4-17 overall, 0-8 in the OVC.
 
Eastern Illinois shot 54 percent from the field but a cold night at the foul line and good offensive rebounding by Southeast Missouri kept the Redhawks in striking distance during the game.
 
The Panthers raced out to an 8-0 lead in the game only to see SEMO respond with a 12-0 run in what would foreshadow the remainder of the game.  EIU held a 34-31 lead at the half closing with a 7-0 run.  Josiah Wallace, JaQualis Matlock and George Dixon all scored in the run for the Panthers.
 
EIU pushed its lead out to ten points with 13:08 to play as Mack Smith hit a lay-up to put the Panthers up 49-39. 
 
Alex Caldwell answered for the Redhawks with a personal 8-0 run as he was the lone SEMO player in double figures on day finishing with 20 points. 
 
SEMO would eventually tie the game at 57-57 with 3:12 left in the game as EIU was 9-of-19 at the foul line in the second half before finishing the game at 13-of-28 for 46 percent.
 
Smith would break the tie followed by a Wallace jumper that gave EIU a four-point lead with 1:01 left in the game.  Jordan Love scored for SEMO with 53 seconds left in the game before both teams failed to score after that.  SEMO missed two 3-point attempts in the final 15 seconds while EIU failed on two late free throw attempts to ice the game.
 
SEMO finished with 15 offensive rebounds leading to 14 second chance points as the Redhawks shot 35 percent for the game.  Sage Tolbert had five offensive boards.
 
Smith led EIU with 19 points while George Dixon posted his seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds.  Wallace added 11 points.
 
EIU posted 11 blocks in the game with Matlock and Jordan Skipper-Brown each swatting away three shots.