Freshman guard Joey Miller set an Eastern Division I era record for points in one game as a freshman in a win against the University of Tennessee at Martin in Martin, Tenn.

The son of Eastern head coach Mike Miller scored 28 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including four three-point shots. Joey Miller also added 12 points from the free throw line.

The Previous record was held by both Tyler Laser and Romain Martin, who scored 27 points.

For his record-breaking performance, and his outing against Tennessee Tech, Joey Miller earned the Ohio Valley Freshman of the Week Award. It was the third time this season he won the award.

This season, Joey Miller is averaging 10.8 points, three assists and 2.5 rebounds per game. He has also shown poise from the free throw line, making 81 percent of his foul shots. He has also been reliable from behind the arc, shooting 31 percent from beyond the three-point.

In games where Joey Miller scores in double-digits, the Panthers are 8-5 overall.

Current OVC Standings

With two straight wins, Eastern’s men’s basketball team sits in 10th place in the OVC standings.

At 4-9. The Panthers are two games behind Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State, who come in as the last three qualifying teams for the conference tournament.

The Panthers have three OVC games remaining. They have to win all of those games to have a chance at making the tournament through a tie-breaker, because they are 0-1 against Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State. However, if all of these teams win one more game, Eastern will be eliminated from tournament contention.

Around the OVC

Following its first loss of the season, Murray State came back with an 82-63 win over Austin Peay. Isaiah Canaan had a game-high 23 points and added six assists as the Racers improved to 24-1 overall and 12-1 in the OVC.

With the loss, Austin Peay falls to 9-18 overall and 6-7 in conference play.

Last week Murray State was ranked No. 7 in the nation; however, the loss to Tennessee State now has the Racers ranked No. 14.

Tennessee State continued its good play with a 68-53 win over Tennessee Tech.

The win improves the Tigers’ record to 17-10 overall and 10-4 in the OVC, while Tennessee Tech falls to 16-11 overall and 8-6 in conference play.

Tennessee State was led by Robert Covington, who had a game-high 16 points, two rebounds and two blocks.

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