Eastern men’s basketball went 2-1 during Thanksgiving break with wins against the Coppin State Eagles, and the Eureka College Red Devils and a loss to the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks. Its record for the season is now 3-4.
Against the Eagles Eastern won 48-46 after a layup from junior guard Corey Sawyer Jr. with five seconds left. Only two people had double-digit points in this game, freshman guard Cameron Sparrow with 12 points for Coppin State, and redshirt sophomore forward Kooper Jacobi with 11 points for Eastern.
Both teams combined for 36 total turnovers, 20 for Eastern and 16 for Coppin State. The Eagles also had 13 steals compared to the Panther’s seven.
Against the Redhawks the Panthers were down 43-30 at halftime and were not able to overcome that deficit losing 76-64. The Panthers went four of 18 from the three-point line compared to seven of 17 for the Redhawks.
Junior guard NaKyel Shelton led the Panthers in scoring with 21 points.
The Panthers beat Eureka College 85-39. They were led in scoring by Jacobi with 16 points, a career-high for him. No one else on the Panthers scored in the double digits, but seven players had seven or more points. This win was Head Coach Marty Simmon’s 300th win.
The Panthers struggled again from three going three of 16. They were able to hold the Red Devils to 13 of 53 from the field and two of 19 from behind the arc. 24.5% from the field, 10.5% from the three-point line, and 39 points is the lowest the Panthers have allowed this season so far.
Jacobi leads the team in scoring (11.1 points per game), minutes (29.4 per game), rebounds per game (7.4), and is tied for most total blocks, four, with fifth year forward Jermaine Hamlin. Hamlin also leads in field goal percentage with 50%.
Sawyer Jr. leads the team in three-point percentage with 53.8%. Senior guard Tiger Booker leads the team in total steals with nine and junior guard Jaylin Gibson leads the team in total assists with 13.
Eastern women’s basketball went 0-2 over Thanksgiving break with losses to the Nicholls State Colonels and the Fresno State Bulldogs.
In their game against the Colonels the Panthers were down 39-33 after two quarters and were not helped by a six-point third quarter and ended up losing 63-55.
Eastern went seven of 22 from the three-point line and had 23 turnovers in this game.
Junior forward Macy McGlone led the Panthers in points in this game with 14. She also led the game in rebounds with nine.
Against the Bulldogs Eastern led 20-8 at the end of the first quarter and led 35-31 at halftime, but a 24-point third quarter from Fresno State compared to Eastern’s 12 was enough for the Bulldogs to win 70-60.
The Panthers again struggled from behind the arc going four of 14 and struggled with turnovers as they had 22 of them.
McGlone led the Panthers in points in this game with 19 and led the game in rebounds with 12. She also played 40 minutes, the first time she has played the whole game all season.
McGlone leads the team this season in points per game (13.8), field goal percentage (54.7%), and rebounds per game (8.4). Junior guard Miah Monahan leads the team in assists per game, 4.4, and minutes per game, 34.4.
Monahan is tied with freshman guard Lalani Ellis in total steals with seven. Ellis also has the most points in a game this season with 22 against Valparaiso.
