JACKSONVILLE – Eastern Illinois was red hot from the floor in the second half and used that to pull off a 75-64 win over the Jacksonville State men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon.
The Panthers (4-10, 1-1 Ohio Valley Conference) shot .704 from the floor in the final 20 minutes after making 17 of their first 23 shots in the half to pull away from the Gamecocks (5-12, 1-1 OVC). JSU struggled from the floor in the second half, shooting 10-for-28 and just 1-for-11 from behind the arc.
JSU got 19 points from
Malcolm Drumwright to lead a trio of Gamecocks in double figures.
JaQuail Townser scored 15, 12 in the first half, and
Jared Hamilton pitched in 12. Townser dished six assists, all in the first half.
Turnovers were a nuisance for the Gamecocks in the loss, one that saw an uncharacteristic 17 turnovers for a team that entered the game averaging just 10.6 per game.
EIU was led by Demetrius McReynolds' 21 points, while Casey Teson added 14 in the win.
The turnover bug bit the Gamecocks early, when they had seven turnovers and seven field goal attempts. The Panthers took advantage and built a 16-9 lead before JSU settled in.
The Gamecocks put together a 23-6 run from that point, a stretch that started with an 8-0 spurt that saw them grab the lead at 17-16. They would build a 32-22 lead with 1:41 on the first half clock, but EIU answered with six in a row to send it to the half with JSU leading 32-28.
The Panthers slowly cut into the deficit before tying it at 40-40 on a Trae Anderson layup with just under 15 minutes to play. An A.J. Riley 3-pointer on the next possession put EIU up by three at the 14-minute mark.
The Panthers used a stretch that saw them make six-straight from the floor and build a 10-point lead with 2:30 to play. The Gamecocks couldn't get the shots to fall to overcome the hole.
JSU will take to the road for a two-game trip that begins Thursday with a trip to Clarksville, Tenn., where they will face Austin Peay. They will then travel to Murray, Ky., for a Saturday date with Murray State.
