COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — James Hollowell scored 17 points in only his second start of the season and Eastern Illinois took control early Thursday night in a 74-57 win over Tennessee Tech, snapping an eight-game losing streak.
The Panthers (10-14, 3-9 Ohio Valley Conference) scored the last six points of the first half — with four by Hollowell — to lead 28-20 at the break, then opened the second half with an 8-0 burst.
Eastern Illinois shot 51.9 percent in the second half (14 of 27) and finished at 48.1 percent (26 of 54) while the Golden Eagles (16-10, 8-5) shot 32.7 percent (18 of 55).
Jeremy Granger added 14 points for Eastern Illinois, which hadn’t won a game since defeating Tennessee-Martin 68-55 on Jan. 12.
Kevin Murphy, the nation’s leading scorer coming into the game (21.8 points), finished with 14 points on 4-of-18 shooting for Tennessee Tech, which ended its three-game winning streak.
