Desperation will make you do some funny things and it will teach you a lesson or two as well. And desperate is exactly what Eastern head coach Rick Samuels was when his team was down 18 points with just 10 minutes left to play in the Panthers’ come-back-from-the-dead 84-74 win over Southeast Missouri Saturday night.

After one of the most boring halves of basketball I’ve ever witnessed, the Panthers found themselves up 37-33 over the Indians as they headed to the locker room for halftime. Witnessing Eastern’s uninspired, tired offense in the first half was like watching water freeze – not only did it seem to take forever, but things only got colder.

But just as the Panthers were about to reach that frozen solid stage, Samuels turned on the heat – and in a hurry. With 8:33 remaining, the veteran head coach threw his typical coaching scheme out the window. Slick Rick put on a full-court press for the rest of the game and the result was a flustered Indian team that fell victim to an explosive, up-tempo fast-break offense.

So why’d he do it?

“It was the only chance we had,” Samuels said. “We were down 18 and we needed to change the tempo of the game.”

Change the tempo he did, but a tempo change wasn’t enough. Samuels made some gutsy substitutions, placing youngsters Jason Wright, John Thorsen and Andy Gobczynski into the game along with junior transfer Ramon Taylor in the game’s most critical stages.

By the game’s end, starters Todd Bergmann, Jesse Mackinson, Chris Herrera and Rod Henry along with regular Jan Thompson all watched the conclusion of Eastern’s clutch come back from the pine as junior scoring sensation Henry Domercant was the only starter left on the floor.

So why’d he bench the regulars and bring in the rookies?

“They gave us hope,” Samuels said.

The reason Samuels had hope is because his team has heart.

“This team’s got a big heart,” he said. “We’ve come back with this group of kids a number of instances. I don’t know if this team has ever really quit. We’ve gotten beat badly, but we’ve nver quit and that’s a very positive sign.”

So out of desperation Samuels learned that his team still has the desire it did when it completed its miraculous 21-point comeback win over Austin Peay to reach the NCAA Tournament. He also learned that his team doesn’t always need the methodical motion offense to put points on the board in a hurry. And finally, he found out that if some of his regular guys don’t start performing, he’s got a bunch on the bench that can get the job done.

Does that mean the 22-year head man should abandon everything and throw full court presses on for an entire game? Not by any means. But what Samuels should have learned from Saturday’s win is that this is a different team from years past that may need to win in different ways. And that may mean using the youngsters more often and going to the press and an uptempo offense more frequently.

“We’ll certainly continue to take a look at it,” he said.

Look he should, and so should his players. Because if this team doesn’t find some answers fast, the Panthers’ miraculous 19-game home winning streak will come to an end shortly.

The question that demands the answers is simple. Which guys will step up and be the scoring supporters for Domercant? Because if no one does soon, the junior phenom could score at will for an entire game and the Panthers would still be shivering in an ice cube by the end of the night.

I think the Lantz faithful would take the win streak over a week’s supply of “Oh Henry” bars. Don’t you?