RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University men's and women's basketball teams will travel west this week to face Ohio Valley Conference foes Eastern Illinois and SIUE.
Men's Preview WHAT TO KNOWSIUE - TV: Fox Sports Midwest (DirecTV 671 / Dish 418)
Live Video I Live Stats I Live Audio I Game Notes I Live Tweets - The Colonels (11-8, 2-2 OVC) will travel to Edwardsville to face SIUE on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. ET. That game will air live on Fox Sports Midwest.
- Freshman
Nick Mayo poured in a career-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field in Thursday's loss at Eastern Illinois.
- Mayo leads all freshmen in the OVC in scoring (12.9 ppg) and field goal percentage (59.4).
- Sophomore
Paul Jackson matched a career high with 14 points on Thursday. He knocked down a career best four three-pointers in the loss.
- Jackson also dished out seven assists vs. Eastern Illinois. He is averaging 7.3 assists-per-game in OVC play.
- EKU's two leading scorers, senior
Jarelle Reischel (19.6 ppg) and junior
JaVontae Hawkins (16.6 ppg), both fouled out at Eastern Illinois on Thursday.
- Junior
Jaylen Babb-Harrison came off the bench to score 13 points on Thursday. Babb-Harrison has hit seven of his last nine three-point attempts and now ranks second in the OVC in three-point field goal percentage (46.0).
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS - This will be only the eighth meeting between EKU and SIUE. The Colonels lead the all-time series, 4-3.
- SIUE (3-14, 0-5 OVC) has dropped seven straight games.
- SIUE is led by Burak Eslik, who is averaging 14.4 points-per-game.
UP NEXT Following this week's road trip, the Colonels return home to host Jacksonville State on Thursday (January 21) at 7:00 p.m. ET and Tennessee Tech on Saturday (January 23) at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Women's Preview WHAT TO KNOW
SIUE
Live Stats | Live Video | Game Notes | Live Tweets- The Colonels will travel to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Saturday and take on the Cougars in the second game of the men's and women's doubleheader.
- The Colonels (9-6, 3-1 OVC) are back in action on Saturday, following a career-high 22 point performance from
Alexus Cooper. EKU picked up two conference wins last week, defeating UT Martin and SEMO at McBrayer Arena. The Colonels used a 14-0 run in the closing minutes to top the Redhawks, as junior
Michaela Hunter knocked down a jumper with 13 seconds left to seal the win for EKU. Watch it
HERE.
- Junior
Michaela Hunter logged her second double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds against EIU. Junior
Jalen O'Bannon posted double-doubles in four of the last five games and leads the OVC with seven on the season. She was named OVC Newcomer of the Week on Tuesday, marking the fifth time this season she has earned the award.
-
Shameekia Murray (15.6),
Jalen O'Bannon (15.0) and
Michaela Hunter (11.4) are averaging in double-digit scoring.
- Murray ranks fifth, while O'Bannon ranks eighth in scoring in the OVC. O'Bannon leads the conference with 9.9 rebounds-per-game.
- The Colonels rank third in the OVC in scoring, averaging 72.4 points-per-game.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS- SIUE (9-9, 4-1) leads the series 5-3 over the Colonels. The Colonels have won two of the last three meetings, including a 59-54 victory their last visit to Edwardsville (January 4, 2014).
- The Cougars split last week, topping Belmont and falling at Tennessee State. SIUE defeated Morehead State, 90-81, on Thursday.
- Shronda Butts leads the Cougars with 20.6 points-per-game, ranking second in the OVC.
UP NEXT- The Colonels return to McBrayer for a four-game conference home stretch. EKU hosts Murray State University (January 20) at 7:00 p.m. ET and Tennessee Tech University (January 23) following the men's game. EKU welcomes in Jacksonville State University and Morehead State University the following week.
