NASHVILLE – It was not only one of the greatest comebacks in school history, but perhaps one of the greatest comebacks in college basketball tournament history.

On Saturday afternoon, the Panthers battled back from a 21-point deficit with just 8:55 left in the game to secure an

84-83 last-second win over Austin Peay State University for their first Ohio Valley Conference championship. The win ensured Eastern just its second bid to the NCAA Tournament and its first since 1992.

“This has taken us to the promise land. This is why we play,” Panther head coach Rick Samuels said of the win. “This is the game we wanted to be in.

“To come back in this game is a thrill of a lifetime certainly,” he said. “This is a memory we’ll carry for a long time.”

The Panthers created that memory by cutting down a big lead in stages.

“This team never thought about quitting, that thought never crossed their mind,” Panther head coach Rick Samuels said. “Coach (Troy) Collier made a great point. He said we had to cut (the lead) to 10 with four minutes left.

“From that point on, we were talking in terms of getting it to 10, then it was we’ve got to get it to seven, got to get to three, then all of a sudden we’re putting ourselves in position to make a play.”

With 21 seconds on the clock, the Panthers, as they have all tournament, looked to senior Kyle Hill to create a shot. Hill, the tournament’s most valuable player, was able to put up a tough, fade-away jumper that bounced off of the back board and fell directly into sophomore Jan Thompson’s hands. Thompson (six points and six rebounds) put the ball directly up and Peay’s Theanthony Haymon was whistled for a defensive goal tending when he knocked the Thompson shot off of the rim, giving Eastern an 84-83 lead with .6 seconds left on the clock.

Austin Peay’s head coach Dave Loos refused to comment on the call, but there was not a doubt in Samuels’ mind that the right call was made.

“I have no doubt, no doubt what so ever,” Samuels said. “Frankly, if it wasn’t (goal tending) and it was a break, we deserve it.

“We worked hard,” he said. “We put it in position to give ourselves a chance to win.”

When the Governors long desperation pass was knocked down by freshman Ryan Kelly and the buzzer sounded, pandemonium broke loose. Eastern’s band and cheerleaders rushed the court as the team mobbed Hill, while sophomore guard Henry Domercant collapsed to the floor in amazement.

“This has been a goal of mine since I’ve been here,” Domercant said. “For us to come back from such a large deficit, it was just such an amazing feeling.”

“I think Henry fell to the floor to make sure it wasn’t a dream,” Samuels said. “He didn’t want to wake up and be like `uh-oh this isn’t happening.’ “

Eastern was not the only team that was in shock. Austin Peay also could not believe what had transpired.

“This is devastating,” Loos said. “I’m obviously disappointed. When we’re up 18 with nine minutes to play, there just aren’t any excuses for that.”

The comeback started innocently enough with Hill finding Domercant on an alley-oop dunk making the score 74-57 with 8:20 on the clock. Then, after another Domercant hoop, it was Hill’s turn to take over the offense. The senior hit back-to-back three pointers and found Craig Lewis behind the Governor’s defense for a lay-up making the score 78-65.

After an Eastern timeout, the Panthers tightened up on defense and continued to looked to Hill for offense. Hill finished with a game-high 31 points and seemed unstoppable down the stretch.

“You should have seen Kyle’s eyes during timeouts,” Samuels said. “There was still time, he still had a chance, and he made great plays.”

After an Eastern timeout with 6:03 left, the Panthers were able to force an Austin Peay turnover which lead to a Hill field goal. On the ensuing possession, Domercant was able to snare down a much-needed defensive rebound off of a Trenton Hassell miss. Hill then came off of a high screen to nail yet another long three, cutting the Governors’ lead to 78-70 with 4:44 left.

“I was just trying to stay focused,” Hill said. “We’ve been down that many before and came back to win. We started to cut the game into pieces and really started to gain confidence.”

The two teams then exchanged free throws to make the score 82-74. After another defensive stop, Domercant was able to find Ryan Kelly on the baseline for a monstrous dunk that sent the Panther fans into a frenzy, making the score 82-76.

“They (Austin Peay) thought the game was well in hand,” Samuels said. “But we focused on the fact that they were celebrating a little early.

“We were down by 13 when we played them in Charleston and closed the gap in a hurry,” he said. “So we kept reminding our

kids that we did it before and we can do it again.”

Domercant was able to pull down another defensive rebound on Peay’s next possession setting up another Lewis lay-up and all of a sudden the Panthers were down four with 1:58 to play.

“You have to give Eastern credit,” Loos said. “But we definitely didn’t help ourselves down the stretch.”

Another Hill converted drive to the basket, off of a Governors turnover, put the Panthers down 82-80. Austin Peay was able to temporarily stop the bleeding when forward Joe Williams was able to split two free throws and give his team a three-point lead. Domercant then gave Eastern a quick answer as he converted a tough shot in the lane to draw the Panthers within one, 83-82.

Eastern was then able to get one more defensive stop when it forced the ball out of OVC Player of the Year Trenton Hassell’s hands and forced Matt Jakeway to miss a three pointer with 25 seconds in the game. That set the stage for one of the greatest and most controversial moments in Eastern basketball history.

Hill missed a fifteen foot jump shot and the rebound fell graciously into Thompson’s hands. Thompson’s shot was then knocked out of the cylinder by Haymon and .6 seconds later Eastern was Ohio Valley Champions.

“Murray State played in the OVC championship game for 11 straight years,” Samuels said at the welcome home pep-rally held for the team in Lantz Gymnasium on Saturday night. “But now the road to the OVC title runs through Charleston, Illinois.”

Now the Panthers have to wait until Sunday when their destination and first round opponent will be announced.

“My program is these kids right here,” Samuels said. “They’ve had a great season.

“They’ve had a never-say-die, keep battling, fun to watch season,” he said. “And we get to watch it into the NCAA Tournament.”