The ‘Comeback Cats’ took Tennessee Tech down to the final minute of play Thursday night, but unlike their usual last-second thrills, the Panthers lost the game, 97-92.

“We had emphasized that this is a solid basketball team. I just don’t think we understood how hard we had to play the game,” head coach Rick Samuels said on WHQQ-FM 98.9 radio’s. “They can play. You have to be ready to challenge them at every possession.”

Eastern (13-9, 5-3) went through three comeback runs throughout the game, its final one with less than two minutes to play. Junior guard Craig Lewis made a jumper to bring the score to a 86-79 before the Panthers turned on the full court press after a timeout.

Sophomore guard Jason Wright scored for Eastern and followed through soon after with a three-pointer to bring the Panthers within four at the one-minute mark, 88-84.

The Golden Eagles (15-4, 8-0) picked up their intensity and junior guard Brent Jolly went in for a shot. He was fouled with the ball, hitting both shots later at the charity stripe.

Junior guard J.R. Reynolds hit a three-point shot with 27 seconds remaining to cut Tech’s lead to 90-87. The Golden Eagles went to the line again, but Wright came back with a 18-foot jumper to bring the Panthers within two, 92-90.

But that would be as close as Eastern would come as Tech went to the line three more times in the final 14 seconds to add five more points to Eastern’s two.

“We proved that we can be on the floor with them,” Samuels said.”

Tech extended its winning streak to 10. The victory also marked their 22nd consecutive win at home.

Eastern struggled in the second half to stay close with Tech, who led throughout the game. Junior forward Henry Domercant suffered a rolled ankle in the second half with 9:30 still on the clock.

He was the second Panther to do so following sophomore guard Chris Herrera ankle injury in the first half. Both players returned to play soon afterwards.

“(Domercant) did turn his ankle – it’s an ankle sprain, but he’s a kid that can put it aside,” Samuels said. “Herrera’s the same kind of kid. They’re both going to be sore (Friday).”

Domercant had a game-high 34 points while Lewis (16), Reynolds (14) and Wright (11) all finished in the double digits.

“After the first 10 or 15 minutes, I thought everybody played well,” Samuels said. “I thought we got warrior kinds of efforts out of all kinds of people.”

Sophomore Cameron Crisp led the Golden Eagles’ scoring with 23 while four other players finished in the double figures.