Spring Break
Men's Basketball: Loss gives Panthers seven seed
Lost six of final eight games
Staff Report
Issue date: 3/2/09 Section: Sports
The Eastern Illinois men's basketball team lost Saturday in the regular season finale to Tennessee State 83-63 after a strong first half by the Tigers.
The Panthers were down as many as 20 points in the second half after a 21-3 run gave Tennessee State (12-17, 9-9 Ohio Valley Conference) a comfortable lead.
The loss was the sixth OVC game the Panthers have lost in a row, and gave Tennessee State the sixth seed in the OVC Tournament.
Eastern was able to cut the lead to nine with 6 minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the second half after a 3-pointer by junior guard Romain Martin, but the Tigers responded on their next possession and increased the lead at the free throw line.
The Panthers got within nine again with 3:21 remaining in the half, but the Tigers went on an eight-point run to put the score at 76-59.
Martin was the only Panther to score in the double-figures, finishing with 29 points to go along with one assist and two rebounds.
Three players scored in the double-figures for the Tigers as senior forward Jerrell Houston scored 19 and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Gerald Robinson scored 19 as well, adding two boards and four assists.
Sophomore guard Darius Cox led the Tigers with 23 points.
The two teams came in with identical 8-9 conference records, so with the victory Tennessee State earns the sixth place spot in the conference. Eastern is now the seventh seed and will take Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn. at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the OVC Tournament.
The Panthers have played the Governors two times this season and lost both times. The two teams squared off on Thursday and Austin Peay won 69-54.
The Panthers were down as many as 20 points in the second half after a 21-3 run gave Tennessee State (12-17, 9-9 Ohio Valley Conference) a comfortable lead.
The loss was the sixth OVC game the Panthers have lost in a row, and gave Tennessee State the sixth seed in the OVC Tournament.
Eastern was able to cut the lead to nine with 6 minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the second half after a 3-pointer by junior guard Romain Martin, but the Tigers responded on their next possession and increased the lead at the free throw line.
The Panthers got within nine again with 3:21 remaining in the half, but the Tigers went on an eight-point run to put the score at 76-59.
Martin was the only Panther to score in the double-figures, finishing with 29 points to go along with one assist and two rebounds.
Three players scored in the double-figures for the Tigers as senior forward Jerrell Houston scored 19 and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Gerald Robinson scored 19 as well, adding two boards and four assists.
Sophomore guard Darius Cox led the Tigers with 23 points.
The two teams came in with identical 8-9 conference records, so with the victory Tennessee State earns the sixth place spot in the conference. Eastern is now the seventh seed and will take Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn. at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the OVC Tournament.
The Panthers have played the Governors two times this season and lost both times. The two teams squared off on Thursday and Austin Peay won 69-54.
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