The Panthers’ recent five-game road trip was not kind to them.

After escaping with a 2-3 record and clinging to their first place standing in the Ohio Valley Conference (they are currently tied with Murray State at 4-1), the Panthers return home from this week for a pair of tough OVC contests.

However, before getting back to work on their quest for an OVC Championship, the Panthers must shore up a few problems, most notably their ball control.

Eastern averaged 19 turnovers a game during the five game road stretch. That is nearly five more than their opponents.

Turnovers cost the team a victory at Southeast Missouri on Saturday. Trailing by one point with 1 minute, 41 seconds remaining, the Panthers threw away consecutive passes that led to easy layups by the Redhawks.

Turnover woes are nothing new for the Panthers, as even in their big wins they have committed a large amount.

Their season-low for turnovers is 15 in blowout wins against Tennessee State and Mississippi Valley State, and their high is 24 in an overtime victory against Southern Methodist For the season, the Panthers are averaging 18.8 turnovers per game.

Luckily for the team, their turnovers had not directly cost them a victory – until Saturday.

Sloppy play in the second half, as well as the four point swing that occurred with less than 2 minutes remaining, had a direct influence on the outcome.

Eastern head coach Brady Sallee said that the last three games, in which the Panthers committed 21, 20 and 22 turnovers, respectively, has “raised a red flag.”

“You can’t win on the road doing that,” Sallee said following Saturday’s loss. “It’s something we need to be aware of and we need to make some efforts in practice. It comes down to valuing the ball and executing. I think with a veteran team like this they’ll be aware with what’s going on and tighten the ship.”

As OVC play progresses and the Panthers continue to face opportunistic foes such as Morehead State (whom they play at home Saturday, 3 p.m.), or Murray State (Jan. 22 at 5:15 on the road), it is clear that ball control will be a key in the Panthers’ success.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or at cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.