EASTERN ILLINOIS (4-8, 1-1 OVC) at Southeast Missouri (6-7, 1-1 OVC)
Thursday, January 1  •  7:30 pm 
Cape Girardeau, Mo.  •  Show Me Center

GAME INFO
RADIO: Hit Mix 88.9 WEIU
TV: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: www.eiupanthers.com
SERIES RECORD: SEMO leads 39-33
LAST MEETING: @EIU 73, Southeast Missouri 58 on March 1, 2025
NOTES: EIU Complete Game Notes

GAME 13
Eastern Illinois heads into the 2026 calendar year on a high note as the Panthers have won two straight with a 76-72 overtime OVC win over SIUE and a blow out 110-56 non-conference decision over East-West University.  The Panthers are slowly getting injured players back in the line-up as they ring in 2026 at 4-8 overall, 1-1 in the OVC.  EIU opens the month on January on Thursday at a Southeast Missouri team that split its OVC opening weekend to stand at 6-7 overall, 1-1 in the OVC.  The Redhawks were last year's OVC regular season champion and have won four of their last five games.  It marks just the fifth time in program history EIU has played a game on January 1st and only the second time as an NCAA Division I member.

WHITE TAKES HOME OVC NEWCOMER HONOR
Meechie White helped lift Eastern Illinois to its first OVC win of the season during the 76-72 overtime victory over SIUE as he scored 21 points with six rebounds.  He was near perfect from the floor going 6-of-6 from the field, 4-of-4 from 3-point range and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.  That performance earned him OVC Newcomer of the Week honors on Dec. 22.  White has four double figure scoring performances in his last six games.  For the season he ranks third in the league in free throws at 84.6 percent. 

BLACKWELL WINS OVC FRESHMAN HONOR
Markus Blackwell became the second Panther to win an OVC weekly award this season as he was named the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday (Dec. 29).  Blackwell earned the award following his performance in the win over East-West University prior to the holiday break.  The freshman guard posted a balanced stat line with eight points, six rebounds and five assists while adding one steal.  As a senior last year he was named Michigan Division 2 Player of the Year at Warren Lincoln HS in Detroit.

FRUSTER CLOSING ON COLLEGE MILESTONE
Senior guard Zion Fruster continued his march towards a career collegiate milestone scoring 15 points in the non-conference win over East-West.  Fruster has scored in double figures in all nine games he has played this season with his 16.4 points per game ranking fourth in the OVC.  Three of the those nine games have been 20-point efforts with a season high 25 against Nicholls.  Fruster enters the Southeast Missouri game with 995 career college points including 472 scored in a Panthers uniform.

UP NEXT
Saturday - January 3, 2026 at UT Martin (3:30 pm / ESPN+)