Sophomore point guard Jeremy Granger has gotten back on track the past two games.

The team’s second leading scorer, Granger was able to score 23 points Thursday against Murray State and 12 points Saturday against Tennessee Martin.

Before these two games, Granger was struggling to score points. He was held scoreless against Morehead State Jan. 16 and tallied only five points against Eastern Kentucky Jan. 14.

“I need to just get the confidence back,” Granger said. “I need to start doing what I do best. When I go to the hole, I need to pull up instead of going all the way in there where the big guys are. Just make a shot and keep going.”

The Elgin native averages 9.6 points per game, behind junior guard Tyler Laser, who is averaging 14.3 points per game.

Head coach Mike Miller said Granger and the offense need to spread the ball around and score consistently for success.

“We need to come back and get more balance,” Miller said. “That’s the strength of our team in the balance. It’s not any one person, but it’s that balance where we could come at you from different areas.”

Rebounding becoming stronger

The last couple of games, Eastern has improved its rebounding game.

Eastern out-rebounded Murray State, 32-30, and Tennessee Martin, 48-36, in its past two games.

During the tough road trip last week, Eastern lost the battle of the boards 37-24 and 42-38 to Morehead State and Murray State, respectively. The Panthers tied Eastern Kentucky at 26 apiece.

“That’s why we have to practice,” senior center Ousmane Cisse said. “We have to have guys in practice that challenge us with going after offensive rebounds so we’re better.”

Cisse had 10 boards on Saturday for his fourth double-digits night of the season. Senior forward Edin Suljic had a career-high 12 rebounds.

Defense steps up

The Panthers’ defense has been tough this weekend, forcing opponents to score well below their season averages.

Murray State and Tennessee Martin both had 19 points below their averages.

“I thought this week, the Murray game this Thursday was one of our best defensive games,” Miller said. “Though, if you put these two games together, this might be the best weekend series that we defended this year just because we were able to be more consistent. We didn’t have a lot of breakdowns.”

Rebuilding a program

The Tennessee Martin Skyhawks have been struggling of late, posting a 2-16 record and a 0-9 showing in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Former Skyhawks coach Brett Campbell resigned after leading them to a 22-10 mark and a 14-4 OVC showing last season. He brought his team to five consecutive OVC tournaments.

Tennessee Martin also lost two-time OVC Player of the Year Lester Hudson. Hudson is now playing for the Memphis Grizzles.

“We are trying to get guys to buy in and believe in what we are doing,” first-year head coach Jason James said. “We are trying to turn the corner as we are in a rough stretch here, but we try to continue to play hard, which is something we do everyday.”

James’ team closed an Eastern lead to 43-42 Saturday before losing 60-46.

“We got to hang in there and keep fighting,” James said.

Bob Bajek can be reached at 581-7944 or rtbajek@eiu.edu.

Senior guard T.J. Marion goes up for the shot during the game against UT Martin Saturday night in Lantz Arena. Marion scored 10 points as the Panthers won 60-46.(Audrey Sawyer/The Daily Eastern News)

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