Here it comes. After a long

off-season, Eastern’s men’s basketball team’s home opener has

arrived.

The Panthers will play the University

of Loyola-Chicago in their first regular season game in Lantz

Arena.

Eastern is coming off a tough 72-79

loss to defending Missouri Valley Champion, Indiana State, while

Loyola-Chicago is coming off a loss to Big 12 Conference opponent

Kansas State.

The last time these two teams met was

last season when the Ramblers won 73-62 in Chicago. Loyola-Chicago

holds a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series against Eastern;

however, the Panthers have not won since 2001.

The Panthers are 0-1 this season and

are led by senior point guard Jeremy Granger, who paces their

offensive attack. In one game this season, Granger has 26 points

and three rebounds. Granger also won the first Ohio Valley Player

of the Week award this year.

Senior guard L.C. Doss could be a key

contributor this season for Eastern’s offense; however, he

struggled shooting the ball in the first game. Doss scored nine

points on 3-12 shooting, including 1-5 from beyond the three-point

line.

Doss said the Panthers need to play

hard and limit their mistakes if they are going to be

successful.

“It’s where we put our work in every

day,” Doss said on defending Eastern’s home court. “We work hard at

(defending it).”

Eastern’s defense is led by red-shirt

junior forward James Hollowell, who is among the OVC’s best

blockers. He is currently third on the Panthers all-time blocks

list with 73 for his career.

The Ramblers are 0-2 this season with

loses to University of Illinois and Kansas State.

Loyola-Chicago’s offense is led by

junior forward Ben Averkamp, who is averaging 14 points per game

and six rebounds per game. Senior forward Walt Gibler is the only

other Rambler in double-figure scoring, as he averages 11 points

and four rebounds per game.

Junior guard Joe Crisman provides

Loyola with a threat from the three-point line. Crisman is

averaging 8.5 points per game and shooting 43 percent from beyond

the arc.

As a team, the Ramblers offense has

struggled early this season. They are averaging 55 points per game

and are shooting just 37 percent from the field and 26 percent from

the three-point line. They have also been sloppy in terms of

handling the ball. Loyola is averaging over 20 turnovers per game,

while its opponents are turning the ball over six less times.

Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. in

Lantz Arena.

Rob Mortell can be reached at

581-7944 or rdmortell@eiu.edu.