The Eastern men’s basketball team can always count on one man to produce an offensive spark for them. The problem in the past for head coach Rick Samuels has been finding others to contribute on a regular basis.

Senior guard Henry Domercant is going to get his fair share of points for the Panthers, but depending on one player is not going to get Eastern an Ohio Valley Conference Championship any time soon.

Already this season, Samuels has seen several different players step up to produce some points and take pressure off of Domercant. The two who stand out the most is senior guard J.R. Reynolds and junior forward Jesse Mackinson.

Reynolds is second on the team in scoring with 16.5 points per game and has been the team’s best shooter with 54.3 percent shooting from the field and 47.4 from behind the three point line.

“(Reynolds) has been a real threat to catch and shoot at any time,” Samuels said. “I think over the course of the season that he will be the second leading scorer on the team.”

When Domercant was struggling to find open looks against Florida in the second round of the NIT, it was Mackinson who filled in and kept the game close early on.

Mackinson notched 21 points against the Gators, but has since been slowed by a broken left thumb that effects his catching and grasping the ball. When he is back to full strength, Samuels expects more of what Mackinson showed against Florida.

Guards Craig Lewis and Jason Wright are the third and fourth scorers on the team, and are also ranked one-two in assists. These two will be looked at to create plays and find open people on the perimeter.

With Reynolds and Domercant having so much success in their long-range shots, it is giving some of the team’s bigger players to get good looks underneath the basket. Senior center Jan Thompson has averaged seven points in the last two games and will need to continue to get chances for Eastern to have a more wide open offense.

“J.R. and Henry are shooting the ball well and it’s definitely helping me out,” Thompson said. “Us big guys need to be able to score and take some of the pressure off of them.”

Despite the extra help Domercant now has, Samuels expects his senior leader to be singled out in opponents’ defensive game plans.

“I still think (Domercant) is a marked man all year,” Samuels said. “The theory of thought for them will be to make someone else beat them.”

Domercant is convinced that he can get the extra help that he needs.

“I have confidence in the guys to score,” he said. “I think we have a better team than we did last year.”