Henry Domercant was worried.

After missing his first two shots Tuesday in Lantz Arena against Western Illinois, the senior guard wondered how long it would take for him to score.

He entered the game needing only four points to become Eastern’s all-time scoring leader. Three minutes into the first half, Domercant nailed a two-pointer and hit another three minutes later.

After Domercant’s layup put the Panthers ahead 18-9 and the crowd of 3,146 rose to their feet with 13:53 left in the first half, his basketball life returned to normal.

Domercant cruised to 29 points and five rebounds and the Panthers rolled to a 76-63 win over the Leathernecks.

“After the game I told Henry that he deserves to be the school’s leading scorer,” Panther head coach Rick Samuels said. “He’s worked so hard for everything he’s received. We have a real star in our midst.”

While Samuels, and anyone else for that matter, could predict Domercant would break Jay Taylor’s (1986-89) record of 1,926 points early in the season, the Naperville North High School product said it was a relief to put the career mark behind him.

“It’s a great accomplishment,” Domercant said. “It felt great to have everyone come out to the game and recognize you the way they did.”

But senior center Jan Thompson almost stole Domercant’s spotlight. Thompson, whom Domercant gave much of the credit for amassing his lofty point total, scored the game’s first five points and finished with 10 and eight rebounds.

“When I was setting screens the guy on me was jumping high,”

Thompson said. “So when that happens it leaves me open to score.”

After Eastern’s opening run, Western cut Eastern’s lead to two with less than a minute before halftime after a three-pointer from Bobby Carter.

Western cut Eastern’s lead to 38-37, completing a 13-5 run.

“We started rushing a little bit and got a little out of sync,” Domercant said. “They made defensive adjustments and we came out high on adrenaline.”

The Panthers slowly began to pull away after a Domercant trey.

“That was a good example of how to use a screen,” Samuels said. “It left him wide open for that shot.”

Eastern then went on a 8-0 run and never looked back, leading by as many as 16 points.

J.R. Reynolds’ hot shooting touch kept the Panthers afloat despite their rebound troubles.

The senior guard connected on seven of 11 shots from the field for 20 points.

“He’s just really in a hot streak,” Samuels said. “I don’t really think he needs to shoot more, but he needs to score more.”