After being predicted to finish 10th in the Ohio Valley Conference and miss the OVC tournament for a second-straight season, the Panthers defied their expectations not only with a tournament berth, but with their first postseason win since 2020.
The win in the first round of the tournament against Southern Illinois Edwardsville was also the first postseason victory for head coach Marty Simmons.
“It means everything,” Simmons said. “That’s why these guys lift at 6 o’clock in the morning during the off-season. That’s why they are putting all the time and effort in, watching tape, and individual skill development.”
Sophomore forward Terry McMorris took his game to a new level.
McMorris averaged 7.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 26 minutes per game.
He finished the season 10th in blocks for a single season with 37, one shy of Chris Oliver who is ninth with 38. He also ranks sixth in block percentage at 5.3%.
His freshman year, he only averaged six minutes a game and didn’t score more than five points in a game.
The seniors were huge for the Panthers.
Graduate forward Kooper Jacobi averaged 11 points with six rebounds.
Jacobi had a career high 30 points and 13 rebounds at Lindenwood to keep Eastern’s tournament hopes alive.
Senior guard Zion Fruster 14.5 points a game led the Panthers in scoring. Fruster had 23 points in the overtime win against Southern Illinois Edwardsville.
Fruster and Jacobi are the top two on the team in scoring.
The third leading scorer on the team was transfer guard Meechie White.
White averaged 10.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists in an average of 30 minutes per game this season. He also shot 85% from the free throw line.
Defense was Eastern’s strength this season. The Panthers finished with the fourth best defense in the conference allowing 69 points per game and now have three straight seasons with a top five defense in the OVC.
Injuries were a big problem for the Panthers throughout the season.
Junior guard Kyle Layton and freshman Shane Sims missed the season, redshirt junior guard JT Elder played one game this season against Kentucky and graduate guard Andre Washington only played in 14 of the 33 games for Eastern. Redshirt freshman Malik Olyafioye missed 13 games as well.
The Panthers ended the season with an overall record of 13-20 and 8-12 in the OVC.
Cameron Thomas can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
