Bell leads Southeast Missouri State against Eastern Illinois after 22-point outing

By Canadian Press on January 1, 2026.

Eastern Illinois Panthers (4-8, 1-1 OVC) at Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (6-7, 1-1 OVC)

Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Thursday, 8:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Southeast Missouri State hosts Eastern Illinois after Marqueas Bell scored 22 points in Southeast Missouri State’s 91-82 win over the Tennessee State Tigers.

The Redhawks are 3-2 on their home court. Southeast Missouri State ranks seventh in the OVC with 13.5 assists per game led by BJ Ward averaging 4.1.

The Panthers have gone 1-1 against OVC opponents. Eastern Illinois is ninth in the OVC with 21.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Terry McMorris averaging 4.8.

Southeast Missouri State is shooting 46.3% from the field this season, 1.5 percentage points higher than the 44.8% Eastern Illinois allows to opponents. Eastern Illinois averages 66.3 points per game, 10.5 fewer points than the 76.8 Southeast Missouri State gives up to opponents.

The Redhawks and Panthers face off Thursday for the first time in OVC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Luke Almodovar is scoring 14.2 points per game with 3.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists for the Redhawks. Braxton Stacker is averaging 13.0 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 41.8% over the last 10 games.

Zion Fruster is scoring 16.4 points per game and averaging 3.8 rebounds for the Panthers. Preston Turner is averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Redhawks: 5-5, averaging 79.0 points, 32.8 rebounds, 13.0 assists, 6.2 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.7 points per game.

Panthers: 3-7, averaging 66.7 points, 27.9 rebounds, 13.4 assists, 7.1 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 44.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.3 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press