CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) -- Morris Woods scored 13 points, Sherman
Blanford chipped in with 10 and Eastern Illinois secured a spot
in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament with a 61-46 victory
over SIU-Edwardsville on Saturday.



Eastern Illinois (11-20, 6-10 Ohio Valley) jumped out to a 13-2
lead to begin the game capped off by a Woods lay-up and the
Panthers never looked back. Eastern Illinois led by as many as
27 points and took a 40-16 lead at halftime.



Blanford grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists to go
along with his point total. Austin Akers had eight points, eight
assists and four rebounds for the Panthers.



Mark Yelovich scored 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting to lead
SIU-Edwardsville (9-18, 5-11), which shot 39.1 percent from the
field and committed 14 turnovers.



Eastern Illinois scored 28 points in the paint and got 18 from
the bench.