All was well in Lantz Arena Saturday night — Eastern tied or bettered Tennessee State in all but one statistical category and ran away with an easy 96-67 victory.

Steals was the only category the Tigers (2-18, 0-8) bested the Panthers (8-12, 3-5) in. The Tigers swiped the ball six times to the Panthers five.

Steals were of little concern to the Panthers as they coasted in the second half to a 29-point victory.

Eastern dominated the boards in the first half with 21 rebounds to Tennessee State’s 11.

Junior center Jesse Mackinson and senior guard Craig Lewis each pulled down six rebounds.

“What sticks out in my mind in the first half is Craig Lewis, our point guard, coming in and getting rebounds,” Eastern head coach Rick Samuels said. “It’s good our perimeter guys are coming in and getting rebounds because, frankly, we’re not big enough in the inside.”

Following the game, Samuels was rightfully in good spirits after admitting he was nervous before the game.

“I was nervous about this game in case we didn’t come out and shoot well,” Samuels said. “If we didn’t get off to a good start, it could have been a long night.”

Eastern started well, outscoring the Tigers 17-11 in the fist six minutes of the game.

Senior guard J.R. Reynolds had a big role in the Panthers early run. After scoring the first points of the game, Reynolds scored a pair of three-pointers on consecutive possessions for the Panthers.

Reynolds made another three with 9:15 left in the half. He made 4-of-8 from the field and had 13 points at halftime.

Domercant said the strong first half was just what Reynolds needed.

“Shooting is mental,” Domercant said. “(Reynolds) had some games where his shots weren’t going in at home. So he needed to get his confidence back up.”

Domercant had a good first half as well, leading all scorers with 15 at the break. He steadily racked up points while making 5-of-7 from the field. With just under six minutes to play in the half, Domercant drove to the hoop for a dunk giving the Panthers a 10-point lead. After Domercant’s dunk, the Panthers went on a tear extending into the second half.

The Panthers defense nullified the Tigers offense, holding them to seven points in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Eastern more than doubled its lead in the beginning of the second half and boasted a 30-point lead with 10 minutes left to play. With 12 minutes left, Domercant came out of the game for good with a game high 28 points and only two missed shots.

“I felt like I was overdue for a night like this,” Domercant said.

The Panthers had a 33-point lead three times in the last 10 minutes of the game when the Tigers edged out the Panthers in scoring 19-18.

Mackinson was one rebound shy of recording a double double. He had a game high nine rebounds and added 14 points.

Freshman guard Josh Gomes came off the bench to score 10 points in 23 minutes.

Senior guard Josh Cooperwood led Tennessee Statewith 16 points, and freshman guard Adrian Pritchett had 14.

The Panthers will host Southeast Missouri Tuesday at 7:10 p.m.

The Otahkians are 9-11 and 4-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference after defeating Tennessee-Tech 75-71 Saturday.