After a brief stay in Lantz Arena, the Eastern men’s basketball team is back on the road.

The Panthers (6-10, 2-3) make a trip to Clarksville, Tenn., to face the Austin Peay Governors 7:00 p.m. Thursday for a critical Ohio Valley Conference game. The winner moves to .500 in conference play, while the loser faces an uphill climb in the OVC race.

The rivalry between the Panthers and Governors (8-6, 1-2) has been intense with eight of the last nine games ending with four points margins. Both coaches expect this game to be no different from previous confrontations between the teams.

“Frankly, the rivalry with Austin Peay has been flavorful,” Eastern head coach Rick Samuels said. “I anticipate another game of that caliber.”

Eastern is hoping to ride the momentum it created with a 68-60 come-from-behind victory over Tennessee-Martin Saturday at Lantz Arena. Samuels thinks the team will be back to form after its recent shooting problems.

“We are struggling because we aren’t shooting the ball well right now,” Samuels said. “That has been hurting us in all facets of the game. We gave them two days off this week so having fresh legs will hopefully help our shot.”

Austin Peay head coach Dave Loos said he is concerned with Eastern’s ability to hit open jump shots. He looks past the obvious production from senior guard Henry Domercant.

“Henry is a big concern for us,” Loos said. “It seems like he has been there forever, but that is not our only concern.”

Loos said the Governors will need to respect senior guard J.R. Reynold’s long-range shooting as well. Reynolds has a 42 percent average from three-point range this season for the Panthers.

Samuels expects Austin Peay to play Domercant agressively, forcing the offense to find other options.

“Defenses have focused on Henry so much that we may have to make him a decoy early in the game to open it up for the other guys,” Samuels said.

The Governors will pose a problem for the Panthers in the post with senior center Jan Thompson expected to still be out with a shoulder injury.

Samuels said juniors Adrian Henning and Josh Lewis could pose a threat to the Panthers in the interior.

Henning leads the Governors in scoring with 15.3 points per game and brings down 5.6 boards a game. Lewis is second in scoring with averaging 11.4 points per game and leads the team in rebounding with 6.4.

Eastern will also have a tough task playing at the Dunn Center where the Governors are 5-0 this season.

The game will be broadcasted live on WHQQ-FM (98.9).