For the first time this season, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams for Eastern picked up a win on the same day.

Each team played Tennessee State at home Saturday, with both teams for Tennessee State being in last place in the OVC.

Women’s Basketball

Despite missing starters Karle Pace and Morgan Litwiller, who are both dealing with injuries, the Panthers beat the Tigers 62-45 Saturday afternoon.

Eastern improved to 7-7 in OVC play with the win, moving into a tie for sixth place in the conference, while Tennessee State fell short once again of its first win this season. The Tigers are now 0-13 in conference play and 0-15 overall.

Sophomore guard Lariah Washington led the team in scoring for the third-straight game with 15 points. She shot just 2-of-5 from the field, but went 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. She also led the team with 7 rebounds.

Kira Arthofer, Abby Wahl and Jordyn Hughes also scored in double figures for the Panthers, who shot 42.6 percent from the field as a team.

The Eastern defense were able to keep the Tiger offense down, allowing them to shoot just 18-of-49 from the field. Tennessee State is averaging just 48.1 points per game this season, by far the lowest mark in the OVC.

Eastern plays its next game Feb. 11 on the road against Jacksonville State. The game tips off at 4:30 p.m.

Men’s Basketball

With an 86-72 win over Tennessee State, the Eastern men’s basketball team has now won two of its last three games following an eight-game losing streak.

The short-handed Panthers got some reinforcements with the return of graduate transfer Sammy Friday IV and sophomore Ryan Leonard, who had each been unavailable for the previous six games.

Eastern blew the game open early, starting the first half on a 21-5 run. The Panthers shot 18-of-25 in the first half and 31-of-50 for the game. They were also able to withstand at 17-2run by the Tigers as a result of their hot first shooting early.

Senior guard Marvin Johnson led the Panthers with 25 points and 10 assists while shooting 9-of-12 from the field.

Freshman guard Henry Abraham scored a season-high 16 points, shooting 5-of-9 from three-point range. 

Friday scored 17 points in his return on 6-of-7 shooting and senior forward Jordan Skipper-Brown scored 13 points and collected a team-high 10 rebounds.

Eastern plays again Feb. 11 on the road against Jacksonville State, with the game tipping off at 7:30 p.m.

Adam Tumino can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].