GAME NOTES: The Eastern Illinois Panthers and North Carolina Central Eagles will square off on Friday as they meet in the third round of the 2014 Emerald Coast Classic at The Arena.

This will be the first meeting in history between EIU and NCCU. The Eagles own a 3-15 all-time ledger versus members of the Ohio Valley Conference.

The winner of this consolation bracket matchup will advance to face the winner of the Southern and Northern Arizona matchup.

The Panthers lost their third game in a row on Tuesday, falling 73-53 to No. 23 Creighton to drop to a 1-4 overall record. EIU was much more competitive in its previous two setbacks, losing to UC Davis (63-61) by just two points and to Cincinnati (54-49) by only five. Coach Jay Spoonhour's squad is hitting on only 34.9 percent of its shots from beyond the arc, while allowing the opposition to net 38.5 percent from 3-point range.

EIU was clearly overmatched in its bout against Creighton. The Bluejays managed to jump out to a 19-point lead by halftime and sank 6-of-7 field goal tries in the early part of the second period to put it out of reach. None of the Panthers were able to reach double-figures in the scoring column, as 6- foot-4 swingman Trae Anderson netted nine points, while leading scorer, 6-8 forward Chris Oliver also added nine points on 4-of-8 shooting. Oliver was a dismal 1-for-8 from-the-foul-line in the loss. Oliver is leading EIU in both scoring and rebounding with 12.4 ppg and 5.2 rpg.

NCCU has also struggled in the early part of the 2014-15 campaign, as they enter with a lackadaisical 1-3 record. All three of the Eagles' losses, to North Carolina (76-60), Creighton (65-45) and Cincinnati (59-50) occurred on the road. Coach LeVelle Moton's squad was outscored, 14-4, at the charity stripe and outrebounded, 33-15, in its loss to the Bearcats on Tuesday. The Eagles have played excellent perimeter defense through four games, limiting their foes to under 30 percent efficiency from behind the 3-point line.

NCCU displayed balance in its loss to Cincinnati with four players finishing with 10 points or more. Senior floor general Nimrod Hilliard led the way with 14 points and three assists, while Karamo Jawara, Dante Holmes and Jordan Parks chimed in with 10 points apiece. The Eagles do not have a very deep rotation, as six players accounted for 186 of the team's 200 minutes versus the Bearcats. However, NCCU has plenty of experience considering all six of its key players are upperclassmen. Anthony McDonald is averaging a team-best 13.8 ppg, while Parks (12.3 ppg) and Holmes (10.8 ppg) have also proven themselves to be dangerous offensively.

Both of these schools have endured rigorous schedules to open up the season. This should be an even matchup between a pair of low-scoring, defensive-minded units. NCCU's experience should help it overcome its lack of depth.