Eastern was three of 13 for three-pointers as the Panthers lost to the Morehead State Eagles 52-78 on Thursday evening in Groniger Arena.

One of the main factors of this competitive game was the lack of three-pointers the Panthers made compared to the 11 of 27 made from the Eagles.

Junior guard/forward Kyndall Davis scored one of the three three-pointers in the second half, and junior guard NaKyel Shelton scored the other two three-pointers in the second half.

Senior guard Tiger Booker explained how the team can improve on their three-pointers ahead of their next game.

“It starts from the hours we put in outside of practice and going into the gym,” Booker said.

“We just have to keep shooting them,” Head Coach Marty Simmons said about the lack of made three-pointers. “We’ve shot the ball extremely well in the last couple of games. Morehead is a good defensive team. We just have to continue to get good looks, and I think they’ll drop for us.”

Davis started the game off hot, scoring the first eight points for the Panthers.

“When we see one shot go in, it gets easier for me to score,” Davis said.

Davis ended the game with 15 points, four rebounds and one steal.

Although Davis got the Panthers on a good start, Booker started to get in a rhythm himself.

Booker scored 10 points in the first half and an additional 10 in the second half.

Davis and Booker scored 20 of the 23 points the Panthers had in the first half.

Sophomore forward Kooper Jacobi scored the additional three points.

The Panthers left the first half with 10 total rebounds compared to the Eagles’ 23 total rebounds as Eastern was down by 13 points.

The Eagles continued to shut down the Panthers’ offense, and they only allowed the Panthers to score 29 points in the second half.

The last time Eastern wasn’t able to score at least 30 points in both halves was against Iowa State on Dec. 21.

“Lessons that we’re going to take is coming out the jump with physicality,” Shelton said. “I think we got outmatched physically, and that was a big part of the game.”

Morehead State came into this game in first place in the Ohio Valley Conference, and Eastern was ranked sixth in the conference.

Morehead State is now 4-0 in conference play as Eastern falls to 2-2.

The Panthers have another home game against the Western Illinois Leathernecks on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Groniger Arena.

Zaria Flippin can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].