EASTERN ILLINOIS (1-7) vs. Blackburn College (3-3)
Saturday, Dec. 3 • 6 pmÂ
Charleston, Ill. • First Mid Court at Lantz Arena
NOTES: EIU Game Notes
RADIO: Hit Mix 88.9 FM WEIU
TV: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: www.eiupanthers.com
SERIES RECORD: EIU leads 2-0
LAST MEETING: EIU 34, @Blackburn 20 on Jan. 31, 1917
GAME 9
Eastern Illinois plays the second of four straight games at home on Saturday night as the Panthers welcome Blackburn College to Charleston for the first time in more than a century. The two schools last met in January 1917, with Blackburn's last game at EIU in January 1916 at Pemberton Gym. EIU enters the game at 1-7 having lost on Wednesday night to Northern Illinois despite the Panthers second best shooting performance from the field this season. Blackburn enters at 3-3 on the season having lost in their last contest against Dubuque on Nov. 27.Â
DONALDSON DELIVERS OFFENSE
Caleb Donaldson delivered on offense for the Panthers in Wednesday's game against Northern Illinois as he was the lone Panthers player to score in double figures. Donaldson scored a season high 15 points going 6-of-9 from the field. He is averaging 10 points per game over his last four games with three contests in double figures. Donaldson is shooting 54.8 percent from the floor in that stretch. A 1,000 point scorer during his three year career at St. Cloud State, Donaldson has also distributed the ball in the last three games with 12 assists.Â
PANTHERS STILL FORCING TURNOVERS
Eastern Illinois continues to be one of the top teams in the nation in terms of forcing turnovers. The Panthers forced Northern Illinois into 17 turnovers on Wednesday night as they currently lead the OVC and rank 32nd in the NCAA in turnovers forced per game at 17.88 per game. EIU forced St. Mary of the Woods into a season high 32 turnovers and also forced Central Michigan into 20 turnovers in the Panthers road contest in Mount Pleasant. Those turnovers have often times turned into steals and points. EIU is averaging 9.6 steals per game which ranks 38th in the NCAA. The Panthers have scored 151 points off of turnovers this season for an average of 18.9 points per game off of turnovers.Â
UP NEXT
Wednesday - December 7 vs. Ball State ... 7 pm on ESPN+
