CHARLESTON, Ill. (Dec. 23, 2008) – Senior David Holston (Pontiac, MI/Avondale HS) (Pontiac, Mich.) posted game highs of 32 points and eight assists to help Chicago State men's basketball capture its first road victory of the season with a 77-64 win at Eastern Illinois Monday night at the EIU's Lantz Arena. The Cougars evened their record to 6-6 with the win, while the loss dropped the Panthers' record to 3-7.
The home team posted a 12-10 advantage in the first seven minutes of the game thanks to three free throws from junior Dewayne Wright, Jr., and later increased its lead to 17-12 on a jumper by junior Romain Martin. A three-point play by senior John Cantrell (Pontiac, MI/Northern HS) (Pontiac, Mich.) helped CSU score a 13-5 scoring drive in four minutes to gain a 26-22 lead capped by a Holston layup at 6:50. The Panthers then scored six straight points in a three-minute span to regain a slim 28-26 lead at 3:06, but a Cantrell layup and a Holston three helped the visitors claim a 31-30 advantage with 1:30 left in the half. Martin knocked down a pair of free throws at the 51-second mark gave EIU a 32-31 lead heading into the halftime break
After a Wright jumper at hiked the home team's leading margin to 34-31 at the 19:32 mark of the second half, the Cougars broke open the game by scoring 31 of the next 47 points over a 12-minute stretch with nine points coming from Holston to capture a 62-50 lead with 6:50 left in the game.
EIU could get no closer than eight points down the stretch as CSU scored 15 of the final 29 points with Holston scoring 10 of those points to provide the final margin.
Cantrell added 18 points with five assists, while junior Marquis Young (Chicago, IL/Mineral Area College) (Chicago, Ill.) recording 14 points to go along with seven rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore Carl Montgomery (Chicago, IL/Shepard) (Palos Heights, Ill.) notched a game-high 11 rebounds with seven points for CSU.
Martin guided EIU with 19 points, including 6-of-6 from the free throw line, and posted two steals. Sophomore Tyler Laser contributed 12 points and four assists, while junior Ousmane Cisse recorded nine rebounds and eight points.
The Cougars travel to Orlando, Fla., next week to compete in the UCF Holiday Classic beginning on Dec. 29 against Campbell with a start time of 3:30 p.m., central.
~ CSU ~
