GAME NOTES: First-round action of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament continues Wednesday as the seventh-seeded SIU Edwardsville Cougars meet up with the sixth-seeded Eastern Illinois Panthers at Municipal Auditorium.

The winner of this contest will advance to Thursday's quarterfinal round of the OVC Tournament, where the third-seeded Belmont Bruins will be waiting.

SIU Edwardsville finished the regular season at a paltry 12-15 overall, with an even 8-8 record against Ohio Valley competition. The Cougars were riding a three-game win streak into the season finale against Austin Peay last Thursday, but SIUE dropped the contest to the Governors, 64-61, on the road.

Eastern Illinois ended the 2014-15 campaign at 16-13 overall and finished conference play at 9-7. The Panthers lost three of their last four games to end the regular season, including a 65-57 defeat at the hands of Murray State last Thursday in the finale.

Eastern Illinois and SIU Edwardsville have met 11 times on the court in their series history, with EIU owning an 8-3 lead over the Cougars. The two sides met twice during the regular season, with each team winning on its home court.

Neither SIU Edwardsville nor Austin Peay shot the ball very well as the Cougars ended their regular season with a loss to the Governors. SIUE shot just 36.4 percent from the floor, but did make 9-of-24 from 3-point range in the contest. The damage was done at the free-throw line, where Austin Peay made 21-of-27 compared to 12-of-18 for the Cougars. Kris Davis collected 18 points with six rebounds to pace Edwardsville in the loss, while Rozell Nunn added 13 points and five turnovers. Keaton Jackson chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds before he fouled out.

Davis had a strong season leading the Cougars, getting a start in all 27 games and averaging a team-best 14.6 ppg on 47.8 percent shooting from the floor. He was the only SIUE player to finish the regular season netting a double-digit scoring figure, although Nunn finished just shy of the mark at 9.6 ppg. Donivine Stewart led the team in scoring last season, and the guard finished with 8.9 ppg this year with a team-best 111 assists. Jackson topped the squad on the boards, bringing down a team-high 6.1 rpg and added 56 blocked shots to his resume. The Cougars enter the tournament averaging 68.3 ppg on 43.2 percent shooting, and allow 66.9 ppg to opponents.

Eastern Illinois took on Murray State to finish the regular season and it was no easy task. The Racers ended up with a perfect 16-0 mark in OVC play. The Panthers held the Racers to 34.4 percent shooting in the game, but Murray State still made more field goals and more free throws than EIU to gain the advantage. Chris Olivier scored 17 points to lead Eastern Illinois in the loss, adding in six rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. Trae Anderson chipped in with 13 points and six boards of his own in the defeat, in which the Panthers shot 42.6 percent from the field.

Anderson and Olivier finished as the team's top two scorers during the regular season, respectively. Anderson's 13.1 ppg was just ahead of Olivier's 13.0 ppg, as Anderson shot 48.3 percent from the floor. They are the only two players for Eastern Illinois to own a double-digit scoring average this season. Olivier enters the game leading the team on the glass, grabbing 5.5 rpg. Cornell Johnston (8.7 ppg) tops the squad with 130 assists on the season. His 4.5 apg ranks third in the OVC. The Panthers struggled offensively by averaging 61.7 ppg in 2014-15 (second to last in the conference), but the team owned the best scoring defense (62.0 ppg allowed) in the OVC to counter the poor offensive effort.

SIU Edwardsville won by 17 points at home over EIU during the regular season, and lost by only three points on the road in Charleston. On paper, that stat favors the Cougars, but the Panthers could shut their opponents down offensively with a strong defensive effort. Whichever team advances will have a tough Belmont team waiting on Thursday.