Box Score

Postgame Interview with Ron Cottrell (video)

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois scored the game's first 14 points and turned away each Houston Baptist run to take a 64-44 victory in non-conference basketball Saturday afternoon at Lantz Arena.
 
Sophomore guard Tyler Russell had 11 points for HBU (3-3), while freshman guard Rob Lewis had a career-high eight points and four steals off the bench. Senior forward Art Bernardi also had eight points, senior guard Marcus Davis led the Huskies with seven rebounds and freshman center Spenser Gales had six points and four rebounds off the bench.
 
Josh Piper led Eastern Illinois (3-4) with 16 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 4-of-5 from the field, 2-of-2 from long range and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Sherman Blanford added 15 points and eight rebounds, and Malcolm Herron had 12 points off the bench.
 
Eastern Illinois shot 52 percent from the field for the game, while holding HBU to 35 percent shooting. The Panthers hit 6-of-13 from 3-point range, while the Huskies were 0-for-10. HBU went 16-for-22 from the free-throw line, and Eastern Illinois hit only 14-of-23. The Panthers outrebounded the Huskies, 32-22, but committed one more turnover, 21-20.
 
HBU scored the first eight points of the second half, holding Eastern Illinois without a point for the first 4:20 of the second half, to make the score 32-23. Blanford ended the Huskies' run with a pair of free throws, followed by one from Morris Woods, then a layup by Blanford to put the Panthers back up by 14.
 
The Huskies cut it to 10 on a jump hook by Gales, who got a block on the other end, followed by a jumper from Lewis. Piper sank a pair of free throws for the Panthers, but Lewis and Russell each hit a pair of free throws as the Huskies closed within eight with 11:42 remaining.
 
Herron hit a deep three with the shot clock winding down to restore the Panthers to a 14-point advantage at the 8:00 mark of the second half, then a layup by Blanford made Eastern Illinois' lead 16 with just under six minutes to go. Taylor Jones' trey with 2:45 left, and Herron's layup with 46 seconds left provided the final margin.
 
Eastern Illinois started the game on a 14-0 run, holding the HBU scoreless for the first 8:38 of the first half. The Huskies got back to within eight at 19-11 with 3:50 on the clock, but Piper knocked down a three and hit a pair of free throws to restore the Panthers' advantage to 13 with 2:58 remaining. Another 3-pointer by Piper and a three-point play by Keenan Anderson put Eastern Illinois ahead, 32-15, at halftime.
 
In the first half, Eastern Illinois shot 44 percent from the field, hitting 4-of-11 3-pointers and 4-of-7 from the free-throw line, while holding HBU to 33 percent shooting and 0-of-3 from behind the arc. The Huskies went 5-of-6 from the line. The Panthers outrebounded the Huskies, 17-11, and HBU did not have an offensive rebound in the opening frame.
 
The Huskies return to action when they head across town to face Rice Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7:05 p.m. at Tudor Fieldhouse.