Box Score | Photo Gallery (by Sandy King)

CHARLESTON, ILL. - The Panthers returned to Lantz on Saturday afternoon after the high of a big win against one of the top teams in the OVC. Eastern looked like a shell of what they were Thursday on the defensive end. The Panthers shot 36% on the game, and were never able to lead the ball game. The Panthers fought and clawed, but fell short of the goal while SEMO continued to pull away. The Panthers record drops to 11-8 (5-3 OVC), as SEMO stays tough, bettering their record to 14-5 (6-2 OVC). 

The Panthers started off the game sloppy on defense as they allowed the Redhawks to shoot 56% from the field in the first quarter. Eastern looked decent on offense, but the slack on the defensive end outweighed them. Karle Pace and Lariah Washington each scored 4 points a piece, and Morgan Litwiller drained a three pointer. Along with the defensive struggles, EIU turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter. SEMO led 22-13 going into the second quarter.

EIU struggled mightily on offense in the second quarter. The Panthers were only shooting 9% on the quarter going into the halfway point of the quarter. Eastern started to turn it around at the end and pulled it to a six point game. Pace and Washington continued to score, as Pace finished with 7 points and three assists. Washington scored a team-high 8 points as the Panthers looked improved going into the break. SEMO led 30-24 at half.

The defense continued to struggle against the quick moving pass heavy offense of SEMO. Eastern let the Redhawks shoot 60% in the third quarter and watched the lead grow larger and larger. The Panthers had made a great comeback in the UT Martin game, so the expectations were that they weren't out of the woods yet. Eastern did play better on the offensive end in the third, however they looked worn out from SEMO. At the end of the third, SEMO led 62-40.

A comeback seemed to be on the horizon for the Panthers as they started to inch closer, but SEMO was relentless and unwilling to allow them to get back into the game. Grace McRae was making noise for EIU offensively and on the boards, but SEMO kept attacking. SEMO pulled away as they cleared the benches to allow everyone some minutes. Matt Bollant did the same as Claudia Stan and Camino Tellez got into the game. The Panthers will look to learn from this game and improve for the upcoming road trip against Murray State and Austin Peay. SEMO won 77-65 over EIU.

The Panthers will be on the road against Murray State on Thursday, Jan. 30.