2024.01.17

Students marched from Thomas Hall to the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union in honor of the

Men’s and women’s basketball picked up several losses and one win in their two game stand at home this past week. Page 2

City Council member

By Alexis Moore-Jones Reporter | @DEN_News

Whether he was known as a councilper son, an East ern Illinois Uni versity alum, a Charleston native or the world’s biggest Cubs fan, Mat thew Hutti will be remembered for his love for others and a smile that would never fade.

“Matthew Hutti, age 44, of Charleston, Illi nois, passed away peacefully at 6:39 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023, surrounded by fam ily,” according to the Adams Funeral Chapel, Born June 26, 1979, Hutti grew up in Charleston and had a childhood like any oth er.

Men’s swim return to compete

By Chloe Proffitt Reporter | @DEN_News

A fter a long-awaited stretch, Eastern’s men’s swimming returns this semester after a semester-long suspension due to hazing.

On Friday, Jan. 19, 5 p.m. the men’s and women’s teams will meet with Southern Indi ana at home. This meet replaces last week’s meet with University of Illinois Chicago which was canceled due to weather and scheduling. The men are returning with excitement.

Head Coach Jonathan Jordan is planning on testing the waters with the men to see where their strong suits are.

By Jacob Hamm Reporter | @DEN_News

Charleston residents will soon have a new place go to to satisfy their late-night sweet tooth. Construction is underway on a new Insomnia Cookies on the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Fourth Street. The store will be located next to Jimmy John’s in the former Trueblood Collective Boutique. Insomnia Cookies is known for its made-to-order cookies in addition to other desserts such as several ice cream products and cookie cakes. The menu also features several gluten-free, dairyfree and vegan options for customers to choose from, according to insomniacookies.com.

Customers can buy cookies individually or in packs ranging from six cookies to catering orders of 100. The company was founded in Philadelphia in 2003 by University of Pennsylvania students Jared Barnett and Seth Berkowitz. The company operates approximately 240 stores across the country.

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Cookies continued from PG 1 >>

Their stores are strategically located near university campuses and operate until the very early hours of the morning. Each location also offers their own delivery service for customers until 2:45 a.m.

Currently, the nearest locations are in Champaign and Terre Haute, Indiana. Other communities with universities such as Normal and Carbondale also have Insomnia stores.

Hiring is underway for the new store as several job listings for both full-time and part-time positions are posted on the corporate website and various job board websites.

The Charleston location is anticipated to be the only new location opening in Illinois in 2024.

Jesus De La Cruz, a senior and a marketing major, is looking forward to the new location.

“I think it’s a good addition for Charleston to have,” De La Cruz said. “There’s one in Champaign at the U of I [University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign], and I tried it, and it was really good.”

Eric Wescher, a senior majoring in psychology and human services, expressed his optimism for recent new businesses locating in Charleston.

“I’m glad that these bigger corporations are kind of seeing Charleston as an opportunity to give their business because it’s just giving us more places to visit, more places to eat. Very exciting,” Wescher said.

While the opening of the store was announced in early December 2023, an exact opening date has not been confirmed. Multiple requests for comment made to both the property owner and construction company were not returned. Despite this, excitement around the opening is growing both on and off campus.

Robbie Rollins, a family and consumer sciences education major, expanded on Wescher’s comments, citing the need for more businesses to be open later at night.

“I’d say there’s not many places that are open late at night for students to go and grab something quick to eat,” Rollins said.

Even students who have not previously heard of Insomnia Cookies appeared to express positive attributes regarding the new business.

Caleb Kowalewski, a history education major who is unfamiliar with the dessert shop, still expressed positive sentiments regarding its opening.

“I think it’s a good kind of after-hours munchie thing for college students,” Kowalewski said. “I think it definitely caters to college students. So, I think it’s a good opportunity.”

Eadie Budd, an elementary education major, has never been to Insomnia Cookies but looks forward to trying it once it opens. While everyone is awaiting the opening, one common theme among students is that they are likely to wait a few days before actually going to the restaurant.

“Definitely a few days after for sure because it’s something new and it’s sweets and who doesn’t like sweets,” Rollins said.

Jacob Hamm can be reached at 5812812 or at jmhamm@eiu.edu.

FRONT PAGE COVER BY HARPER HANCOCK AND ROBERT LE CATES

SIA DEYKOONTZ | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS Construction has started for Insomnia Cookies on the corner of 4th street and Lincoln in Charleston Ill.

Honoring the memory of Matthew Hutti

Continued from PG 1 >>

Around age 5, Hutti’s family noticed his disability symptoms. He was diagnosed with the neuromuscular disease muscular dystrophy.

Although this disability caused problems with his mobility, that did not stop him from having a normal childhood.

“[While in school] he participated in you know, he was in the chess club, he did the plays at the high school, he was a manager for a basketball team, he went to proms. It was always just a little bit different you know we had to kind of work at it,” said his mother, Deborah Hutti.

Matthew Hutti could walk his entire high school career. The day of his graduation ceremony was the last time he could.

After graduating from Charleston High School in 1988, he began using a wheelchair.

Furthering his love for education, Hutti left Charleston to receive his bachelor’s degree at Fontbonne University in St. Louis in 2002.

While at Fontbonne, Hutti ran to be Mr. Fontbonne-- comparable to homecoming king-- and got second place, said his brother Timothy Hutti.

He later returned to his hometown and earned his Master of Science in Sports Management from Eastern Illinois University in 2007.

“He then moved to Orlando, Florida, and worked at Disney World,” said Timothy Hutti. “He had a multitude of jobs with Disney World. Disney was very good to him.”

He worked at Disney for around two years, later ending up working for the largest Marriot hotel in the world in Orlando, said Timothy Hutti.

Hutti’s disability became too difficult for him to handle on his own, so he moved back to Charleston.

Matthew Hutti’s illness may have played a significant role in his life physically, but he lived as if it did not.

His mother said around the age of 12 he realized there was no cure, so he no longer allowed his disability to affect him.

“If he’d go to a doctor and the doctor would say something negative, Matthew simply would pretend like he didn’t hear it,” said Deborah Hutti.

While substitute teaching for the Charleston school district, Hutti had time to do what he loved most: spending time with his family.

According to his mother, he had 31 first cousins and made sure to keep up with everyone as best as he could. His favorite thing to do with his cousins was travel.

“He went skiing. That was kind of a difficult one, but it was fun,” Deborah Hutti said. “He got to experience going in the ocean with his cousins.”

“He got to go to New York and visit family. Traveling was a very important part of his life, but he did it with family because he needed more help than just my husband and I,” she said.

According to lifelong friend and Mayor Brandon Combs, Hutti lived an exciting life.

“Matt was an adventurer in terms of

chasing all kinds of exciting activities: snorkeling, snow skiing, dog sledding, hot air ballooning, parasailing, deer hunting, kayaking, remote muskie fishing, motorcycling and snowmobile riding,” Combs said. “He wanted to ensure that those behind him in the same circumstance understood that they could do anything.”

Here in Charleston, one of his favorite things to do was go out to eat at Casa Del Mar with his uncle Mark, his aunt and his cousin.

With a neuromuscular condition as severe as Hutti’s, his family was the backbone of his foundation.

Combs knew how important his family was to him and all the things they did for him.

“His family banded around him and helped him, you know. If he wanted to achieve something, they were gonna do whatever they could to make sure that Matt was able to get what he needed to, to accomplish what he wanted to do,” Combs said.

“Matt just never complained, and his family would see that, and they would help, you know,” he said. “They would help him right along because they knew that he had ambition and he had drive. He had things that he wanted to accomplish and show people that even though you have a disability, you can still accomplish whatever it is you want to do.”

Regardless of the relationship between Hutti and his disability, he never com-

plained and always had a humorous outlook on life.

Junior nursing major Mia Di Naso worked as a student aide for Hutti for almost four years and remembered him as being one of the most positive people she knew.

“He was wonderful. Living with a disability, I couldn’t imagine, but I really never knew anyone that was more positive than him,” Di Naso said. “He really had a great outlook on, I mean, every situation.”

As his condition worsened, Hutti began losing mobility in his hands, so he had to use a new wheelchair powered by head movements.

Di Naso recalled while practicing along the track inside Sarah Bush Lincoln Hospital, Hutti ran into a wall and made a few dents and a hole.

“It was not great at first, but afterward we just would laugh about it and it kind of became a running joke at, you know, the fact that he was gonna run into something,” she said.

And that he did.

His mother said that there are plenty of dents and bumps along the track inside the field house from him practicing.

Hutti loved being outside and riding around. Because of that, he always met someone he knew.

“He knew everybody, so we’d walk into a store see somebody he knew, and we hold the conversation with him every single time,” said sophomore kinesiology ma-

jor Jackson Becker. “Sometimes it was hard to get him, you know, to quiet down, sometimes, or do whatever we had to do because he was always talking to somebody. He always had a smile on his face whenever we’d go somewhere.”

While out of town at a WWE match, Timothy Hutti was scared when he thought he lost his brother.

Matthew Hutti told him he was going to the bathroom, but after about an hour Timothy Hutti began to worry.

After calling security, they told him that Hutti met the owner of the Los Angeles Rams Stan Kroenke and happened to be Kroenke’s room eating dinner.

As much as Hutti enjoyed meeting new people, he enjoyed meeting people like himself all the same, which is where his love for Camp New Hope came from.

According to the Camp New Hope website, “Camp New Hope is a year-round recreational experience for special needs individuals ages 8 and above.”

He spent a lot of time at Camp New Hope growing up. As he got older, he began mentoring the young people there in hopes of showing them that they have the power to do whatever it is they want to do.

Hutti was a huge sports fan. He spent time playing fantasy football, sitting at home enjoying the game or coming out to Eastern for sporting events.

He is most known for his love of the Chicago Cubs.

“Matt loved the Cubs, and his family was all Cardinals fans. Most of his friends were Cardinals fans, and if the Cardinals were playing the Cubs, I can guarantee you I would receive a bunch of messages or calls ‘cause I’m a Cardinals fan myself, and he loved to poke fun at us,” said Combs. “He loved whether the Cardinal, whether the Cubs would beat the Cardinals, or the Cardinals would beat the Cubs. He was still harassing us Cardinal fans constantly.”

Hutti had the utmost respect for the Charleston Fire Department and police station.

He was always giving them praise or sending cards to show off his support.

The impact of his appreciation for the police and fire department was so strong that the police and fire department stood honor guard over his casket at visitation as well as escorting his procession to the cemetery. Living in Charleston allowed Matthew to build a community within the community.

“I think if Matthew had lived in a big city, I don’t think he could have done everything that he has done,” said Deborah Hutti. “We, had to learn not to worry about Matthew when he could drive his wheelchair by himself. But we knew that in a small town, somebody would help him. We knew it because people knew him, and he knew them, and I think that makes a big difference if a person lives like Matthew, because you know, he had so many needs.”

In hopes of giving back to the small city that gave so much to him, Hutti ran for city council.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Matthew Hutti with his student aide Mia Di Nash at Lake Charleston.

Opinions

Students need healthier, more flexible latenight food choices

Have you ever finished writing a ten page paper at midnight and asked yourself “What is even open right now?”

There are countless pizza places probably open. There are the usual fast food places like McDonald’s or Taco Bell. But out of these choices, what is even remotely healthy?

When looking into what restaurants are open past midnight, we did not find many that were considered “healthy options.” For our list of “open late,” these restaurants either closed at midnight or were closed past midnight into the early morning.

Closed at midnight:

Jimmy John’s (Fri.-Sat. 3 A.M.)

Closed at 1 a.m.:

• Domino’s (2 A.M. Wed.-Thu., 3 A.M. Fri.-Sat.)

• South Quad Dining’s Late Night Pizza

Closed at 2 a.m.:

• Taco Bell

• Chubby’s Pizza (3 A.M. Thu.-Sat.)

Closed at 3 a.m. or later:

• McDonald’s

When looking at the list, there are one or two that may offer healthy substitutes, but nothing beyond a salad or a lettuce wrap instead of bread.

We at the The News are calling for more healthy options to be open late at night. There are countless times when college students are either up late doing assignments or coming from work and just want something healthier than pizza or a burger.

Yes, South Quad Dining does offer healthier substitutes, but sometimes students need something more substantial than veggies, sauce and cheese on flat bread. While that is a start, more can be done.

The big opposition to this argument is actually having the workers to do different menu changes.

We have seen this as an issue in the university owned dining halls. But hopefully more creative measures can take place like utilizing the self-service stations newly introduced last semester at South Quad

Dining.

Another idea can be the Stevenson Tower Deli. From what we have gathered at The News, people are liking the option of the deli being open later. One thing that we wish is that stayed open till midnight or 1 a.m. like South Quad, and was open more often.

To help combat staffing difficulties, Stevenson Deli could combine resources into South Quad Dining, to still have pizza as well as additional healthy items such as sandwiches and salads like they do during the day.

Although staffing would be consolidated to one location, more options could be offered by having more workers in one place.

It might take time, or even dining fees increasing, but we feel it is a substantial improvement to the dining palate offered for Eastern students.

The Editorial Board can be reached at 581-2812 or deneic@gmail.com

COMIC BY ELLEN DOOLEY | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

‘Wish’ upon a technology

By Dan Hahn Columnist

animation style was unusual and even distracting at times.

Spoiler alert: In this column, I discuss the plot of the movie “Wish” and dissect certain elements of the story that will detract from the experience for those who want to view the movie with fresh eyes. If you fall into that category, I recommend watching the movie first before continuing.

Disney movies have changed quite a lot over the past several decades. For example, I was impressed when I saw “Moana” (2016), and I thought the modern take of a hero’s journey cleverly hid themes of the urgency of climate change, sustainability and environmentalism.

These allegories are hidden in plain sight, and those with a critical eye can easily find examples of progressive environmentalist ideologies throughout the movie.

When I went to see “Wish” with my family, I did not know anything about it. I thought it started slow and the

IMDB summarizes it as a story about a young girl named Asha who “wishes on a star and gets a more di rect answer than she bargained for when a trouble-making star comes down from the sky to join her.”

What I found most fascinating about the movie was the magnani mous king-turned-villain Magnifico. Magnifico learned sorcery to create his successful and bustling kingdom.

He has the power to grant wish es, but he decides which wishes will bring the most benefit to his kingdom of Rosas.

Each person in Rosas gives a wish to king Magnifico, but in return they do not remember the wish unless it is granted.

Wishes are held captive in the king’s castle and since every wish has a component of risk (there is no guar antee that the individual could realize them), Magnifico relieves them of the burden of their dreams.

“I decide what everyone deserves” is a common refrain from Magnifico throughout.

On the surface of the fairy tale, “Wish” is a story about the corruption of power on once well-meaning indi viduals.

‘The Iron Claw,’ an emotional gut-punch

By Drew Coffey Columnist

Before Christmas break, I made a top three films of 2023 list where I talked about what films were the most compelling, visually striking and emotionally relevant.

I really wish I had waited a little longer to make that list, as “The Iron Claw,” written and directed by Sean Durkin, is certainly one of the most tragic and saddening films of 2023.

The film stars Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson and Lily James and tells the true story of the Von Erich family, who owned the Texas wrestling scene of the 1980s.

I’ll start by saying the film fantastically conveys the 1980s feeling

through costuming, set design and music choice.

But I would say the biggest positive of this movie would be the incredible acting all across the board. All four of the brothers have such a natural and familial camaraderie that only brings a smile to your face.

Efron and White are the standouts in my opinion as they give very layered and dynamic performances that are ignited by their father.

Throughout the film, we see the demanding and pressuring presence he has with his sons, forcing them to go into wrestling to solidify his legacy. We see that conflict within each brother as they are constantly trying to impress their father and become champions.

Unfortunately, the film also heavily deals with the tragedies that plagued the family.

Whether these tragedies were from drug abuse, depression, the pressure of being the best or just a random ill -

ness, the Von Erich brothers began dying one after the other.

It is truly emotional how the brothers reacted to each other’s death and continued to maintain their largerthan-life persona within the ring. It also sadly shows the callousness of the father who continued to push the remaining brothers to carry on with his legacy.

One slight problem I had with the film was the space between each brother’s death. To me, I think more time in between the tragedies would have given each of them a little more impact.

Instead, it feels like a rather quick domino effect when, in reality, years went by between each death.

I know this is a nitpick as the film has to maintain its pace and runtime. However, I feel like it would have made the deaths even more impactful and saddening as we see how their mental health begins to dissipate.

Lastly, I want to talk about the last

scene of the film which proves once and for all that Efron has distanced himself from the basketball-tossing, long-haired, singing teenager we all know him for.

With other dramatic performances such as “Charlie St. Cloud” and “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile” under his belt, Efron definitely delivers as an emotionally expressive actor.

Seeing his reflection on nearly a decade of familial hardships is astounding to watch and ends the film on a definite note that time with family is limited.

Overall, “The Iron Claw” is an emotionally impactful film that respectfully depicts the lives of a family that inspired, entrained, and wore their hearts on their bloody sleeves.

My overall rating: 4.5/5

Drew Coffey can be reached at akcoffey@eiu.edu or 217-581-2812.

Gatrell plays with pep band

Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

By Cam’ron Hardy News Editor | @DEN_News

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy and his work to improve civil rights, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. hosted the 37th annual Martin Luther King Jr. vigil and program.

Members of the fraternity and other members of the community met in Thomas Hall at 2 p.m.

They wrote phrases and words on posters about civility and peace.

At around 2:15, everyone gathered and began marching to the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

They sang different songs along the way including “This Little Light of Mine,” “We Shall Overcome” and “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round.”

When they arrived at the University Union, they met up with other students that were already waiting to make blankets for an event titled The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

Students were invited to make blankets in the Grand Ballroom.

Tyrese Brownlee is a sophomore majoring in health administration who attended the event. He is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha.

He said that giving back to the community is one of the biggest values that

both he and his fraternity hold close to them.

Another value that they hold close to them is uplifting and doing things for the community.

Brownlee said that the vigil was a useful way of bringing the community together.

“I feel like the vigil just really gave us a chance to all come together and just celebrate the movement of us just going forward,” Brownlee said. “Just making strides, and that’s really what it’s all about. Just always moving forward, and that’s really important.”

Brownlee being a part of the organization that hosted the event allowed him to take part in a leadership position.

He said that everyone in the organization wants to be a leader.

“We want to be the first to raise our hands, the first to go out there and do services,” Brownlee said. “So being a leader, it honestly means a lot to me. It just is something that I really pride myself on. It’s one of the principles that I really just feel is important, especially not even just in a college atmosphere, just even in real life.”

Brownlee continued saying that being a leader plays a part in society because he is able to impact the younger generation and motivate them.

BY

Deshaun Streeter, a sophomore majoring in construction management, is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha.

Streeter said the cause and the movement brought him out to the event. Streeter followed saying that having a movement like this is important because “if someone [doesn’t] step up and start showing interest in things, then nothing is ever going to get done.”

Streeter said the addition of the blanket making event after the vigil was a

good idea to bring the campus together.

“It brings the campus together because blanket making is very easy to do,” Streeter said. “It can bring literally a whole bunch of people together, no matter what shade of colored skin, gender, it literally bring everybody together.”

Cam’ron Hardy can be reached at 581-2812 or at

BY ROB LE CATES | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Kriss Donovan-Gatrell helps her husband Jay Gatrell, Eastern’s University President, button a jumpsuit to match the Panther Pep Band to play during the women’s basketball game against Western Illinois University at Groniger Arena Saturday afternoon.

CAM’RON HARDY | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Students gather outside of Thomas Hall preparing to march to the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

FILE PHOTO | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Eastern’s men’s and women’s swimming teams will compete together against Southern Indiana for the first meet this school year.

Swim continued from PG 1 >>

Freshman men’s swimmer Nolan Wallace is excited to start his collegiate career with the Panthers.

“Leading up to my first meet, I’m definitely excited for the challenge,” Wallace said. “After missing out on a bunch first semester, it’s just exciting to finally be able to swim in a meet again. Overall, I think it is just going to be a fun opportunity to see how I fare.”

On the men’s side of the team, keep an eye out for junior Dismas Dillon and sophomore Canyon Bain.

Last year, Dillon set a school record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 20.31 as well as in the 100 fly with a time of 50.19.

Along with Dillon, Bain entered into the top 10 in the 100 fly with a time of 50.75.

For the first time this season, the men will compete and hit the roads with the women, who are equally as excited for them to return.

“It is super exciting to be back with my teammates on the men’s side,” freshman Paloma Pareja said. “It helps to push the women because they are faster in practice. I’m happy that the men are back and practicing with us, and I think this semester will be fun.”

On the women’s team, the Panthers are coming off a successful invite before break where the women clocked in a few top 10 times within program’s history.

Senior Camryn Lewis recorded an impressive time of 23.77 in the 50 freestyle along with the 200-freestyle relay team with the sixth fastest time in school history of 1:36.68.

The team is ready and excited to see what they can do.

“I am really excited now that we are back in the pool, especially after such a long break,” senior Phoebe Croston said.

Chloe Proffitt can be reached at 581-2812 or at densportsdesk@gmail. com.

Panthers set records in first meet of 2024

By Aidan Cusack Sports Reporter | @DEN_News

First-year Director of Track and Field James Gildon oversaw the 10th annual John Craft Invitational in the Lantz Indoor Fieldhouse on Saturday.

This was Coach Gildon’s second-ever meet while director at Eastern and his first meet with more than two schools attending.

Teams from IUPUI, University of Missouri-Saint Louis, Vincennes College, and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College attended the meet.

Gildon noted that he was happy with the performance of his team, yet they still had room for improvement.

“Each group, throws, distance, sprints, hurdles, they all had some bright spots, but they’re really hungry,” Gildon said. “Even though they were bright, it didn’t feel as bright as they could be.”

Field events began at 10 a.m. with first-year Throwers Coach Mitchel Couch and second-year Pole Vaulting Coach Josh Stice overseeing.

Couch mentioned the training that was required to get the throwers ready for Saturday’s meet.

“They’ve been troopers man, I’ve been putting them threw the gauntlet a bit,” Couch said. “All in all, very happy with performances today.”

Senior thrower Bradley Olysav placed first in both men’s weight throw with 17.67 meters and shot put with 15.95 meters. Olysav was content with his times, saying he was happy performing at this level considering he’s only had a week of in-person training.

“Only having a week of in-person training, I wasn’t expecting that much,” Olysav said. “It was a good building block, you got to start somewhere.”

Pole vaulting saw graduate pole-vaulter Declan Ritzenthaler place first with a vault of 4.70 meters. Stice said that this mark was made on a shorter run-up than Ritzenthaler usually competes with and was impressed with his mark.

Stice also said that he was impressed with the efforts of sophomore pole vaulter Zac Stout.

“If you look at his position and may, he was shooting around the 4 meters 10 [centimeters], 4-20 mark,” Stice said. “Now he’s pretty consistently at the 4-30 mark and even hit a 4-40 today.”

Junior jumper Taryn Tarquin led Eastern in the triple jump with 11.10 meters. She placed second in the meet with this mark.

“I felt good [today], I felt like this meet was good for shaking the rust off,” Tarquin said. “We have two pretty important meets coming up so hopefully those will be better than today was.”

Track events began at 12:30 p.m. and consisted of 24 events.

Distance Coach Erin Howarth and the Eastern distance runners competed in their first meet since early November. Howarth said that she felt good about the runner’s success at the meet,

Panthers of the Week

The junior guard/forward from Chicago recorded two double digit games this week against the Morehead State Eagles and the Western Illinois Leathernecks.

Davis scored 15 points against the Eagles on Thursday as the Panthers lost 52-78 in Groniger Arena. Davis also recorded four rebounds and one assist.

On Saturday afternoon, Davis recorded 12 points against the Leathernecks as the Panthers lost 60-63 in Groniger Arena. Davis also recorded three rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

noting that winter break training paid off.

Freshman sprinter Daniel Lacy led the sprinters in the 60-meter with a time of 6.92. Junior sprinter Riley Wittkamper won the 400 meter with a time of 51.60.

Gildon discussed what the team would be working on in the days following the meet.

“We operated in pockets today, each group stayed with their own group,” Gilson said. “We missed that crossgroup support. That’s something that we’re going to highlight in our postmeet meeting.”

Track and field will be meeting again on Saturday at the Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Indiana.

Aidan Cusack can be reached at 5812812 or at densportsdesk@gmail.com.

The freshman from Milwaukee, Wisconsin helped the Panthers secure a win over the Western Illinois Leathernecks on Saturday afternoon in Groniger Arena.

Ellis scored 17 points against the Leathernecks, including a layup and a free throw due to a shooting foul.

Ellis extended the lead to 60-51 with six minutes left in regulation as the Panthers beat the Leathernecks 72-63.

Along with leading Eastern in scoring against Western Illinois, Ellis recorded two steals, one rebound and one block.

KYNDALL DAVIS

LALANI ELLIS

EMMIE GERMAN | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

(From Left to Right) Kylie Decker and Rylea Borgic in the mile run.

Basketball opens home OVC play

Persistent offense against Western Illinois helps women’s team earn split last week

By Luther Yoder Assistant Sports Editor | @DEN_News

The Eastern women’s basketball team started their week of games with a close loss to the Morehead State University Eagles in the final seconds but were able to end it with a win against the Western Illinois University Leathernecks on Saturday.

Against Morehead State, the Panthers had a slow start, scoring 14 points compared to the Eagles 24. They were able to turn it around in the second quarter, scoring 21 points while only allowing 12 from Morehead State.

“Going into the second quarter, Coach literally just said ‘It’s about our defense,’” junior guard Miah Monahan said. “Like we got to figure it out, and it was more just like effort-wise. They weren’t doing anything special. We just had to lock in on defense and just give our best effort.”

After the first half, the score remained close for the rest of the game and was tied at 67 after a three pointer was made by sophomore guard Ellie Buzzelle with nine seconds left. Buzzelle also led the game in points with 20, which tied her season-high.

Morehead State was able to convert a layup with three seconds left, and Eastern was not able to make their next shot to tie the game. Eastern ended up losing 69-67.

left in the fourth quarter.

Before the fourth quarter, Eastern was playing good defense, holding the Leathernecks to 31% from the field in those three quarters. Once they saw that three-pointer go in, they went on a 12-0 run and never looked back, outscoring Western Illinois 3119 in the fourth quarter, and winning the game 72-63.

“I felt like we got more aggressive,” Bollant said. “We started getting in the paint. Ellis started coming off ball screens, and Tiny and we started getting really good shots. Once we saw it go in, our confidence kept rising.”

One of the biggest factors in the Panther’s improved scoring in the second half was freshman guard Lalani Ellis. Ellis had one point at the end of the first half but finished the game with 17 points and a perfect six for six from the field.

Junior forward Taris Thornton went down at the end of the first half with a sprained ankle, and Bollant said that they needed someone to step up in her place.

After the game, Head Coach Matt Bollant said that he wanted the team to play harder in their next game.

of that tonight.”

“Let’s figure out Saturday if we can play harder than Western,” Bollant said. “If you want to hit a home run, you got to touch first base. [Touching] first base is playing hard, and we didn’t do a good enough job

In the first three quarters of their game against Western Illinois, the Panthers were playing hard, but they just couldn’t get their three-pointers to fall. Eastern missed 15 straight three-pointers until Buzzelle was able to make one with seven minutes

“Obviously Ellis was big stepping up in the second half because one of the things Taris does is get to the rim, and so we needed somebody to do that and Ellis did a good job of getting to the rim in the second half,” Bollant said.

Luther Yoder can be reached at 581-

Eagles, Leathernecks leave men winless in first two home conference games

By Zaria Flippin Sports Editor | @zariaflippppin

Eastern men’s basketball lost two straight games this week.

On Thursday evening in Groniger Arena, the Panthers lost to the Morehead State Eagles 78-52.

Three Panthers scored double figures against the Eagles: senior guard Jordan “Tiger” Booker (20), junior guard/forward Kyndall Davis (15) and junior guard Nakyel Shelton (10).

Before the Panthers’ Saturday afternoon game against the Western Illinois Leathernecks, redshirt sophomore forward Kooper Jacobi was seen with a boot on his foot.

Because Jacobi normally starts for the Panthers, junior forward Rodolfo Rufino Bolis started in Jacobi’s place.

Along with Jacobi, fifth year forward Jermaine Hamlin did not play for the Panthers on Saturday.

Bolis and redshirt sophomore forward Lazar Grbovic played more minutes than usual to help the Panthers stay in the game against the Leathernecks.

“I think both of our backup bigs came in and gave us good minutes, good physicality and really imposed their will,” Shelton said. “I thought they did great.”

Bolis scored two points and also recorded two rebounds and one assist.

Grbovic scored six points over Western Illinois, as he also recorded five rebounds and one steal.

“I’m glad that I played and that the coach[es] had trust in me,” Grbovic said.

BY SIA DEYKOONTZ | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Senior guard Jordan “Tiger” Booker scored a combined 33 points and went 10-11 in free throws and 11-25 in field goals during the two games this past week against Morehead State and Western Illinois.

“I’m trying to do my best to help the team win games.”

Eastern lost in a close game against Western Illinois 63-60 on Saturday afternoon in Groniger Arena.

The Panthers are now 8-10 overall as the two losses make them 2-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Here are two aspects the Panthers struggled with on Thursday and Saturday:

Rebounding was a struggle for the Panthers in both games this week, as the team lost the rebound battle against both Morehead State and Western Illinois.

Morehead State recorded 46 rebounds against Eastern, 17 more than Eastern themselves.

Sophomore forward Sincere Malone led the Panthers in rebounding against the Eagles with eight rebounds.

Jacobi recorded five rebounds for the Panthers, and Shelton and Davis both recorded an additional four rebounds.

Eagles’ Jordan Lathon recorded 13 rebounds, leading the Eagles in rebounds but also leading in rebounds throughout the game.

Western Illinois recorded 34 rebounds against Eastern. with Eastern only recording 24 rebounds.

Shelton and Grbovic led the Panthers in rebounding with five each.

Leathernecks’ Drew Cisse led Western Illinois with 12 rebounds.

The Panther struggled to make three-pointers throughout the week compared to their opponents.

Eastern made three of their 13 attempted three-pointers.

Davis made two of them, and Shelton made the third three-pointer for the Panthers.

All three-pointers made for the Panthers against the Eagles were made in the second half of the game.

The Panthers were four of 14 from behind the arc against the Leathernecks.

Shelton made two three-pointers for the Panthers, Booker made one three-pointer and junior guard Dan Luers made the fourth three-pointer for the Panthers.

The next game for the Panthers will be against the Lindenwood Lions on Jan. 20 in St. Charles, Missouri.

Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Zaria Flippin can be reached at 581-2812 or zhflippin@eiu.edu.

BY ROB LE CATES | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS Freshman guard Lalani Ellis scored 17 points leading the Panthers, had two steals and went 6-6 for field goals during Saturday’s game against Western Illinois.