TOLEDO, Ohio –
Jeremy Granger led three Panthers in double-figures with a career-high 21 points and Eastern Illinois men's basketball turned 21 Toledo turnovers into 29 points, winning its season opener, 72-62, Saturday evening.
Eastern (1-0) shot 49 percent from the field and committed only 11 turnovers.
Edin Suljic scored six big points on three straight field goals in crunch time and finished with 14 points. #T.J. Marion# was EIU's top performer early, connecting on four consecutive field goals over a three-minute span and scoring 10 points in the game.
Eight of the 11 Panthers that saw action scored and EIU shared the ball effectively with 17 assists on its 25 field goals.
Granger hit a trio of 3-pointers over the course of three minutes in the first half, leading the way during a 13-0 run. But Toledo's Larry Bastfield connected a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left, ending the scoring drought and cutting into the Panthers' halftime lead.
Eastern opened up a game-high 13-point lead twice in the second half, on a
Tyler Laser 3-pointer at the 12:21 mark and
Shaun Pratl dunk with 9:09 remaining. But the Rockets put together a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to make it a three-point game. The two teams traded baskets over the next three minutes.
Suljic scored on a jump shot with 3:32 remaining to put EIU ahead 60-54. He followed that up consecutive layups and the game was not in doubt the rest of the way.
Granger was 6-of-8 at the free throw line in the final 70 seconds to seal the victory.
The Panthers kept Toledo off the free throw line. The Rockets didn't score from the charity stripe until the 12:54 mark of the second half.
Eastern returns to action Wednesday when it hosts IUPUI in its home opener. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
