After dominating for 45 points in the Eastern win four nights ago, Henry Domercant was ice cold from the floor Monday night as Eastern dropped its second and final exhibition game of the season, 99-88 to NBC Thunder.

The junior guard finished with 21 points, but it took him an 8-for-27 shooting night to do it, including a 3-for-4 effort from the free throw line.

“Henry can’t be 8-for-27,” Eastern head coach Rick Samuels said. “That’s more than a bad night.

“Henry’s trying to do too much one-handed off the dribble. That’s not the Henry Domercant we saw last year who would spot up and shoot or take one dribble and shoot. We talked to him about that and he listened. He needs to step into every game thinking he can score 30, but he needs to do it the way he’s capable of doing it, by catching and shooting.”

Domercant’s off night forced Eastern to rely on three other players, who finished in double figures, to carry the Panther offense for much of the night.

“As a feel, we looked for more than Henry,” Bergmann said. “When they pressed Henry, we had to find other guys in the offense. We’ve got to keep all five guys on the court accountable.”

Eastern’s 49-41 lead in the first half didn’t carry over after halftime as the NBC Thunder cut the score to 55-54 four minutes into the second half.

“We were out of sync,” junior guard Craig Lewis said. “We couldn’t get our offense going.”

NBC Thunder guard Tyrone McDaniel dominated on the floor late in the second half with two consecutive three-point shots before stepping to the line with two free throw shots for a 71-69 lead.

McDaniel continued to score 15 more points before the night was over.

“He’s got no conscious,” head coach Rick Samuels said. “He could throw up a three from anywhere.”

Domercant cut the score to 82-78 with three minutes remaining, but NBC Thunder responded with five more points. A tip-in by Domercant off a Ryan Kelly missed free throw brought the Panthers within seven with 1:50 left. That was as close as Eastern would get for the rest of the game.

“We didn’t have a very good flow,” Samuels said. “We’re not where we can be.”

NBC Thunder went to the line six more times in the final minute and a half of the game, adding 10 more points for the eventual 99-88 win.

Turnovers proved to be costly for the Panthers, committing 16 for the game with Bergmann and Rod Henry coughing the ball up four times each.

On a positive end, Eastern filled the offensive hole left by Domercant to put three other players in double figures.

Lewis was Eastern’s second leading scorer with 16 points, while sophomore center Jesse Mackinson had 15 and junior guard J.R. Reynolds finished with 12 points. Mackinson led the team with eight rebounds.

“There’s some good things, like four guys in the double figures… I like those things,” Samuels said.

“Our four big guys, they do what we want them to do. We’re in good shape there.”

Bergmann contributed eight points for the night, finishing 4-for-5, with his only miss coming on a desperation three at the end of the game.

While Eastern ends its exhibition competition, the Panthers open the season with St. Joesph’s 7:10 p.m. Friday night in Lantz Arena. The loss isn’t the most important thing the Panthers will take into the season opener.

“It was a good lesson for us,” Samuels said. “I think we got down on ourselves when we missed a free throw or a shot didn’t go in. We have to keep our intensity level up.

“It’s too early to start speculating. We don’t want to play our best basketball in our second exhibition game.”