Axe to grind, E. Illinois crushes rival W. Illinois 85-47

Dec 17, 2019, 04:01 am

MACOMB, Ill. -- JaQualis Matlock scored 14 points with eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks and Eastern Illinois dumped Western Illinois 85-47 on Monday night.

EIU head coach Jay Spoonhour won his 100th game at EIU to become the sixth Panthers head coach to reach the century mark.

The win was the largest margin of victory in the 164 games played between the two teams in the battle for the Old Railsplitter Axe. Eastern Illinois leads the series 83-81.

Matlock made 6-of-7 shots, Josiah Wallace scored 13 and Jordan Skipper-Brown 10. Marvin Johnson, Kashawn Charles and Braxton Shaw each tallied nine points and all 10 Panthers that played scored.

Ben Pyle's 3-pointer with 7:47 before halftime brought Western Illinois within 24-20. But Matlock scored nine points before the half ended and Eastern Illinois (7-4) outscored the Leathernecks 16-7 for a 40-27 halftime lead.

Pyle led Western Illinois (2-7) with 14 points. The Leathernecks were 16-of-55 (29%) shooting and 4 of 22 (18%) from 3-point range.

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