The defensive effort that Eastern’s men’s basketball team exhibited against Morehead State should not go unrecognized.

Like the saying goes, defense wins championships, and last Saturday, Eastern displayed some championship caliber defense against a very good offensive team.

The Panthers held Kenneth Faried, without a doubt the best player in the Ohio Valley Conference, to a season-low five points, as well as forcing him to commit eight turnovers.

It was easily Faried’s worst performance of the season. Eastern did not just do an outstanding job on Faried, they also shut down one of the better guards in the OVC, as well in Demonte Harper.

Harper came in to the game averaging 17 points per game. The Panthers forced him to shoot a miserable 3-16 from the field, as he finished the game with seven points and five turnovers.

Faried’s troubles started right from the tip. On Morehead’s first possession, the Panthers showed Faried just how they when going to defend him.

They challenged his catch in the post and as soon as he caught the ball there was another Panther there with a double team. Faried could not handle the pressure and committed his first of eight turnovers.

This defense clearly frustrated the potential first round NBA draft pick.

He committed a few silly fouls and would eventually foul out of the game with about two minutes left.

With Faried and Harper held in check, Morehead was unable to get into a comfortable flow offensively, leading to its worst offensive output all season.

Morehead came into Lantz Arena averaging over 70 points a game. They left with only 40 points on the scoreboard.

Even though the Panthers offensive effort was nearly as bad as Morehead’s, they were still able to put enough points on the board for their third win in the OVC.

I was extremely impressed with the passion and intensity Eastern showed. If it can continue to play hard-nosed defense like this, the Panthers will have a real shot at contending for an OVC title and a NCAA tournament appearance.

Consistency has been a problem with the Panthers all season, so the real test will be Thursday when they take-on defending OVC champion Murray State. If they can play another solid game and come away with a win, I wouldn’t be surprised to see another winning-streak similar to the streak to end the year last season.

Rob Mortell can be reached at 581-7944 or rdmortell@eiu.edu