‘The Old Railsplitter’ will be returning to Charleston.
The traveling trophy made an appearance in Western Hall Monday night (Dec. 16), where the Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois men’s basketball teams added another chapter to their 91-year rivalry. The latest edition went to the Panthers by a score of 85-47.
“Obviously, we wanted to play better and do better, but give them some credit, [Eastern] came in and made things difficult for us,” said head coach Billy Wright.
The Leathernecks have had a history of overcoming large deficits this season, so the 40-27 halftime score wasn’t troubling.
What was a cause for concern – 50 percent free-throw shooting (5-for-10) and nine turnovers. All year, Western prided itself as one of the most accurate teams from the line, and it entered the contest ranked third in the nation in fewest turnovers committed.
The Leathernecks finished the game with a season-high 19 turnovers, and EIU scored a fourth of their points on the extra chances.
“Coming into the week, we had good workouts, good practices. The guys worked hard, and it was very, very competitive, but we ran into a perfect storm,” Wright continued. “We couldn’t make shots, turned the ball over and couldn’t defend. A lot of that had to do with Eastern and their pressure. They disrupted our rhythm on offense, and then defensively, we couldn’t guard the ball and couldn’t rebound the ball. This was a total disappointment, but one of those games where we just get back to work and go from there.”
Using a 9-0 run for separation, EIU held its first double-digit advantage at 19-9 with 12:33 on the clock in the opening period. The visitors never relinquished their lead but did see Western claw back within four, 26-22, on a James Claar lay-in near the six-minute mark.
The traveling ax ties the two Land of Lincoln schools to the former President and his nickname of the ‘Railsplitter.’
Head coaches Billy Wright and Jay Spoonhour reintroduced and revamped the trophy in 2016, and the Panthers are in current possession of the ‘Old Railsplitter’ after claiming the last three contests.
Ben Pyle recorded a team-high 14 points while Kobe Webster added eight with five rebounds. Claar also contributed six points and eight boards, and Anthony Jones came off the bench to grab six boards of his own.
The Leathernecks return to Western Hall Thursday (Dec. 19), where they will play host to Holy Family College at 7 p.m.
***Report Courtesy of Western Illinois University Athletics***
