It wouldn’t be a men’s basketball game against Austin Peay unless the game came down to the final seconds of play.

Despite Eastern’s 18-point lead with 6:18 left to play, the Panthers didn’t seal their victory in their 73-70 win over the Governors until the game’s final seconds. “We decided to keep this close tradition going,” head coach Rick Samuels joked after the game.

But it didn’t have to be that way. Complacency was the problem in the final six minutes that allowed Austin Peay (9-12, 4-3) back into the game. Eastern’s (13-8, 5-2) lead was quickly cut to 10 with 4:44 left on the clock and while the Panthers struggled to stay in control, Governor senior guard Nick Stapleton sent in a three pointer to cut Eastern’s lead to 72-65.

Stapleton then came back to cut the lead with his fourth three pointer of the night to move Austin Peay within four.

“We got awfully complacent,” Samuels said. “We actually quit running offense and then got standing around and then could never get going again.”

A foul on junior forward Henry Domercant put Governor sophomore guard Rhet Wierzba to the line. Wierzba put Austin Peay cut Eastern’s lead to 72-70 with 45 seconds remaining.

“We got a little complacent. We started to relax,” Domercant said.

“We lost a little bit of focus and intensity. We didn’t take care of business for the last six minutes. That definitely can’t happen against a great team like Austin Peay.”

With 23 seconds left, Domercant was caught traveling, giving possession to the Governors. Wierzba then had two consecutive three-point looks from the corner, both of which he missed. The Governors’ then kicked the ball out to Stapleton who also missed a three, but this time Domercant pulled down the board.

“I just kept thinking, I’ve got to get the rebound,” Domercant said. “The third time, it was an all-out effort for that ball.”

Immediately a foul was called on Austin Peay and junior guard Craig Lewis went to the line in the final second of the game for a 73-70 win.

“It was a learning experience,” senior forward Todd Bergmann said. “You have to continue to play the game. You can’t just hold the ball and hope for the clock to run out.

“It’s Austin Peay – for some reason, no matter when we play them, it always comes down to the last minute.”

The first half was a quick domination by the Panthers, as they came back from a 16-5 opening rally by Austin Peay to take as much as an 11-point lead in the first half.

Eastern grabbed 24 rebounds in the first half to Austin Peay’s 16 and the Panthers headed to the locker room with a 34-25 advantage.

Domercant finished with 32 points, one shy of Stapleton’s 33 points. Stapleton finished 11-for-28 from the field and 7-for-8 at the charity stripe.

“He’s a great combo player and he can knock down the jump shot of he gets hot,” Domercant said of Stapleton. “He’s definitely a great player.”

Wierzba also finished in the double figures with 10 points for Austin Peay.

Domercant finished 11-for-23 from the field with six three pointers. He also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Bergmann added 12 points while Lewis ended with 11.

While the three-point win was narrow, it was a change from the 86-64 loss the Panthers suffered at Austin Peay Dec. 31. But the Panthers still maintained their second-place standing in the Ohio Valley before taking a week off of competition. The Panthers will take the court again Jan. 31 at Tennessee Tech.

“I feel we ended on a bad note, but I think we can use that,” Domercant said. “Now I’m a little more hungry. I’m going to make sure I’m ready to go a full 40 minutes. You just have to learn from it and grow and realize it takes a full 40, especially since we’re going against this year’s bully.”