[DataKing]

EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHERS (7-13, 4-8)

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MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (11-8, 6-5)

Will the Real Morehead State Please Stand Up?!?! Eagles Blow Lead at Home, Fall to Panthers 69-66.

January 27th, 2007

MOREHEAD, KY - The Morehead State Eagles basketball team has been displaying more than it's fair share of inconsistency as of late, and that has to be a concern for fans as well as for head coach Dante King. Two nights after a convincing victory over the conference-leading Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, The Eagles seemed to have the upper hand over a far inferior opponent, Eastern Illinois. But the inexperienced Panthers squad came back and handed the Eagles their 4th home loss of the season, 69-66.

Morehead State jumped out to an early 9-2 lead over the Panthers, thanks largely to the continued hot shooting of senior guard Quentin Pryor. But strong inside play from the freshman tandem of Justin Brock and Ousmane Cisse got the Panthers back into the game and kept things close. The teams were tied at 14-14 with 13:01 to play and again at 28-28 with just 4:24 to go, as neither team could hold a lead for very long. Morehead State tallied the last 6 points of the half and led 38-34 at the break.

Early in the 2nd half the Eagles went on a 7-0 run sparked by senior forward Shaun Williams, and Morehead State had the advantage, 49-38, their largest lead of the game. But freshman Ousmane Cisse would not be denied (19 pts, 5 reb, 7-8 ft). Taking advantage of Eagles' sophomore center Clinton Reisz and a loose whistle by the referees, Cisse single-handedly brought his team back into the game with successful and-1 situations on three consecutive trips down the court. By the 7:55 mark, the Panthers had shaved the lead down to 57-54. Morehead State still managed to hold the lead until only 2:54 remained, when junior guard Julio Anthony knocked down a pair of free throws to give Eastern Illinois the edge, 64-63. Shaun Williams had a chance to force overtime, as he was fouled with only 5 seconds to play and down 67-65, but his second free throw clanged off the front of the rim and the Eagles' slim hopes of victory were dashed.

Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena               1H     2H    Fin
-Eastern Illinois (8-13, 5-8)       34     35     69
-Morehead State (11-9, 6-6)         38     28     66

Starters

Eastern Illinois        Yr     Ht     Pos     Morehead State       Yr     Ht
Mike Robinson           SO     5'11"   PG     Brandon Callahan     JR     6'0"
Julio Anthony           JR     6'4"    SG     Quentin Pryor        SR     6'4"
Bobby Catchings         JR     6'6"    SF     Jamyron Steward      JR     6'3"
Justin Brock            FR     6'8"    PF     Shaun Williams       SR     6'6"
Ousmane Cisse           FR     6'8"     C     Clinton Reisz        SO     6'10"

Team Statistics

 Eastern Illinois                                        Morehead State
        73               Points                                66
        23               Field Goals Made                      26
        46               Field Goals Attempted                 61
      0.500              Field Goal %                        0.426
         8               3 Pointers Made                        8
        15               3 Pointers Attempted                  25
      0.533              3 Pointers %                        0.320
        15               Free Throws Made                       6
        20               Free Throws Attempted                  7
      0.750              Free Throw %                        0.857
        12               Assists                               17
        16               Turnovers                              6
         8               Team Fouls                            15
        30               Total Rebounds                        22
         4               Offensive Rebounds                     7
        26               Defensive Rebounds                    15
         3               Steals                                14
         2               Blocks                                 5
        20               Points in the Paint                   30
        14               Bench Points                           5
         4               Second Chance Points                  10
         4               Fast Break Points                     16

Morehead State Player Statistics

Name                            Pts   Reb   Ast   Stl   Blk   TO   PF   Min
Quentin Pryor                    20     0     2     5     0    1    1    31
Brandon Callahan                 19     2     5     0     0    0    2    35
Shaun Williams                   13     7     4     3     0    0    4    34
Jamyron Steward                   5     2     1     0     0    3    2    26
Clinton Reisz                     4     5     1     4     3    1    1    30
Cordaryl Ballard                  3     0     1     1     1    1    0    12
Nikola Stojakovic                 2     0     2     0     0    0    1     6
Andreas Coleman                   0     4     0     0     0    0    1     7
Dan Penick                        0     1     1     0     1    0    1    11
Vincent Crutcher                  0     1     0     1     0    0    2    13

Coach's Notes

• This team is really starting to baffle me. One day they look fantastic, and the next they look like they couldn't beat their own grandmothers. We currently have the same record against the top 5 teams in the conference (3-3) as we do against the bottom 5 (also 3-3).
• Jamyron Steward has been slumping as of late, with only 25 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 8 turnovers in his last four games. I'm thinking about starting Vincent Crutcher in his place next game, just to shake things up a bit.
• Quentin Pryor continues to poor it on. That's 55 points in the last 2 games from our shooting guard.
• Clinton Reisz disappeared in the 2nd half, allowing himself to be dominated by a smaller and younger Ousmane Cisse.