Eastern’s men’s basketball team extended its losing streak to seven games this weekend with losses to Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky.

The first game was against Morehead on Thursday. The Panthers were dominated in almost every statistical category as Morehead grabbed more rebounds (37-33), shot better (44 percent to 40 percent) and committed fewer turnovers (10-to-18).

Eastern was led by freshman guard Isaac Smith, who came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points. Smith also grabbed four rebounds and recorded two steals during the game.

The second loss was against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. The Panthers got off to a good start as they lead Eastern Kentucky 26-24 at half time, but the Colonels caught fire from beyond the arc in the second half.

Eastern Kentucky hit seven consecutive three-point shots in the second half, leading to a 67-47 win. The Panthers held the Colonels in check in the first half as Eastern Kentucky shot 34 percent from the field, including 1-11 from the three-point arch.

However, the Panthers defense was not as good in the second half, allowing Eastern Kentucky to shoot over 69 percent from the field which included nine three-point shots.

Justin Stoomes led the Colonels with 20 points, including four three-pointers, while also adding four rebounds and four assists.

Junior guard Jeremy Granger led the Panthers with 15 points and five rebounds.

The two losses dropped the Panthers record to 8-17 overall and 4-11 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Panthers are currently in ninth place in conference and they would miss the tournament if the season were to end now, as the top eight teams are the only teams that qualify to compete in the tournament.

The Panthers return to action on Tuesday for senior night against UT Martin.

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