Indiana State 66, Eastern Illinois 48

Dec 7, 2013, 10:17 pm

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Jake Odum and Manny Arop scored 15 and 12 points, respectively, as Indiana State defeated Eastern Illinois 66-48 on Saturday night.

The game was a close one early and saw six ties and six lead changes until the Sycamores (6-2) broke away on a 9-2 run into halftime, up 30-24. Arop had four of those points.

Three buckets by Demetrius Moore and back-to-back 3-pointers by Odum and Khristian Smith sparked a 12-0 run that finally brought some daylight for the Sycamores (6-2), leading 56-39 with 4:59 to play.

Moore finished with 10 points, hitting 5-for-5. The Sycamores shot nearly 43 percent.

Sherman Blanford scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Eastern Illinois (3-6), which hit just 16 of 54 field goals. The Panthers went scoreless for nearly 5-and-a-half minutes spanning halftime. The Panthers blocked 10 shots -- three apiece by Josh Piper and Mat and Luke Piotrowski.