After going on a 5-2 run to start off the game, Eastern didn’t look back for the rest of the game as the Panthers defeated Southern Indiana 63-54 Thursday evening at Liberty Arena in Evansville, Indiana. 

Eastern’s first points came from a putback layup from senior guard NaKyel Shelton. After a layup by graduate guard Artese Stapleton rewarded via a goaltending violation, and a three-pointer from Shelton, the Panthers never gave up the lead to the Screaming Eagles. 

“It was a good win for us,” Stapleton said. “We came together and figured it out.” 

Shelton (18) and Stapleton (17) led the Panthers in scoring throughout the game, and junior guard Zion Fruster was third on the team in scoring with 13 points of his own. 

One aspect of the game the Panthers normally struggle with is winning the rebounding battle. In this game, Eastern recorded 45 rebounds compared to Southern Indiana’s 33 rebounds. 

Graduate forward Kooper Jacobi (11) and senior forward Rodolfo Bolis (9) led the team in rebounds.  

Bolis was just short of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds, but his ability to score off of second chance putbacks off the backboard helped Eastern tremendously in their win. 

“The numbers on the glass were terrific,” head coach Marty Simmons said. “Rodolfo was fantastic on the glass. I just saw a lot of effort and determination was as good as it’s been all year.” 

The game remained relatively close throughout as the Panthers only led by three points at the end of the first half. 

Eastern started the second half strong with a jumper from Shelton and a layup by Fruster and never looked back. 

With five minutes left in the second half, the Screaming Eagles managed to cut the Panthers’ lead to five points. 

Within those five minutes, Eastern went on a 11-3 run. Six of those points were scored by Shelton. 

“I think everybody believes in [Na]Kyel,” Simmons said. “He’s been here for two years, and we know what he’s capable of.” 

The other five points came from Stapleton. 

“I really thought Artese down the stretch showed tremendous leadership,” Simmons said. “I thought he gave guys a lot of confidence.” 

Looking back at their win, Shelton was pleased with the team’s performance and his individual performance. Shelton credited his coaches, the managers and his teammates for creating plays that got him good looks at the basket. 

“I thought I played fairly well,” Shelton said. “Shoutout to the coaches and managers. I think my teammates did a good job at getting me in a good rhythm, getting me in my spots, and I think we played well off each other overall.” 

Although Eastern recorded the win, mathematically eliminating Southern Indiana from the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, because Lindenwood defeated Little Rock 93-92 in overtime Thursday evening, Eastern has also been mathematically eliminated from the tournament, currently in ninth place in the standings. 

Simmons said after the game that he’s happy for the players and he’s proud the team continued to play hard for the 40 minutes of regulation. 

“I’m really happy for our players,” Simmons said. “It’s been a tough year, but a tough period here. I’m really proud of how they hung in there, stuck together. [They] had several times during the course of the game where we could’ve broke, but we didn’t. We showed a lot of poise, a lot of character, and I thought we deserved to win.” 

Eastern will travel to Morehead, Kentucky to compete against Morehead State University on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Zaria Flippin can be reached at 581-2812 or at zhflippin@eiu.edu.