Eastern Illinois visits UT Martin after Sears' 20-point outing

Published Jan. 20, 2023 3:42 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Eastern Illinois Panthers (7-13, 3-4 OVC) at UT Martin Skyhawks (12-8, 4-3 OVC)

Martin, Tennessee; Saturday, 4:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: UT Martin faces the Eastern Illinois Panthers after Jordan Sears scored 20 points in UT Martin's 80-60 victory over the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks.

The Skyhawks are 9-1 on their home court. UT Martin is 3-0 in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Panthers are 3-4 in OVC play. Eastern Illinois ranks third in the OVC allowing 69.6 points while holding opponents to 42.3% shooting.

The Skyhawks and Panthers meet Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Parker Stewart averages 2.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Skyhawks, scoring 16.6 points while shooting 36.5% from beyond the arc. K.J. Simon is averaging 15.2 points and 1.8 steals over the past 10 games for UT Martin.

Kinyon Hodges is scoring 13.8 points per game with 3.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists for the Panthers. Yaakema Rose Jr. is averaging 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 37.8% over the last 10 games for Eastern Illinois.

LAST 10 GAMES: Skyhawks: 7-3, averaging 82.6 points, 37.5 rebounds, 12.7 assists, 7.2 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.8 points per game.

Panthers: 5-5, averaging 69.7 points, 29.4 rebounds, 14.8 assists, 8.6 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 46.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.