Spring Break
Men's Basketball: Panthers drop road games, qualify for league tourney
Staff Report
Issue date: 2/16/09 Section: Sports
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The Panthers (11-14, 8-7 OVC) lost to Morehead State 64-48 on Thursday, and they also lost 73-55 to Eastern Kentucky on Saturday.
Both games were on the road, and now the Panthers have lost three games in a row, but will qualify for their first conference tourney since the 2004-2005 season.
The Panthers are in sixth place and can finish no worse than seventh place. Only the top eight teams qualify for the conference tourney.
Eastern junior guard Romain Martin passed the 1,000-point mark Thursday night. Martin has 1,021 career points, which ranks him 31st in Eastern career history.
Martin had 17 points in the loss on Saturday in Richmond, Ky. Eastern sophomore guard Tyler Laser had 11 points.
The Panthers, however, could not contain the Colonels and their 3-point shooting. EKU senior guard Mike Rose led the Colonels with 28 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. The Colonels shot 16-of-29 from beyond the arc.
"Eastern Illinois' defense allows you to pass it around the perimeter," EKU head coach Jeff Neubauer told the Richmond Register. "The key is to find the right shot around the perimeter, and we did that. It wasn't the first time we saw the rim we would shoot it up. Our guys would find the right shot and they deserve credit for being unselfish."
EKU finished 25-of-49 from the field. The Panthers shot 50 percent from the field, but only shot 36.8 percent from the field in the second half as they were outscored 40-24 in the second half.
The Panthers allowed the Eagles to shoot 10-of-20 from beyond the arc on Thursday night in Morehead, Ky. Morehead State junior guard Maze Stallworth finished with 20 points, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. Laser led the Panthers with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
Eastern will return to action against Tennessee Martin at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Lantz Arena. The Skyhawks have won 10 in a row.
-Staff report
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