If anyone doubted the importance of teammates in basketball before Saturday night, they should have realized by watching Eastern’s game against Morehead State basketball is truly a team sport.

At the professional level, basketball fans have become accustomed to players such as Allen Iverson and Vince Carter carrying their teams. People who think basketball is an individual sport could say “look at high school basketball.”

When the top player in the country, LeBron James, was forced to sit out games after accepting a pair of vintage jerseys as a gift, his team struggled without him and barely defeated teams they would have easily dispensed had James been in the lineup.

Many could have made the argument Eastern is a one-man team, but not after Saturday night.

The nation’s second-leading scorer, Henry Domercant, was held to two points in the first half. However, Domercant’s low level of offensive production did not condemn Eastern to a loss at the hands of Ohio Valley Conference leader Morehead State. At halftime, Eastern trailed by one with the score 33-32.

How did Eastern stay in the game against a team with only one loss in conference play before Saturday? The answer is Domercant’s supporting cast.

Senior guard J.R. Reynolds did exactly what he is supposed to do, provide an alternative scoring source for the Panthers. Reynolds had the answer for the Eagles all night long. He made 7-of-14 from the field including three three-pointers.

But it wasn’t just Reynolds picking up the slack left by Domercant.

Freshman Josh Gomes is blooming into the future of Eastern basketball. In the last month he went from a freshman seeing little playing time this season to Rick Samuels’ first option off the bench.

If teams in the OVC didn’t know who Gomes was before Saturday, they do now. When a freshman steps up and scores 18 against the No. 1 team in the conference, it forces others to take notice.

Another player on Samuels’ bench Eastern has continually turned to when it needs a spark on offense or defense is senior guard Ramon Taylor. Taylor played three minutes Saturday, but he made all 180 seconds of it count. He made both of his shots, including a three pointer, for five points.

Morehead further proved how much a team’s star needs his supporting cast to win. The Eagles’ Ricky Minard scored a team-high 21, but he missed one thing, the team’s second leading scorer this season — Chez Marks.

Marks was suffering from the ill effects of the flu and made just 2-of-9 from the field in the first half. After vomiting in the locker room at halftime, Marks did not return to the game.

But the strongest proof basketball is a team sport, is the way Eastern played after Domercant was injured early in the second half. With Domercant out, the Panthers rallied from being down two points to being up by three. Reynolds and Gomes combined for seven points during the time Domercant was out.

After Domercant’s teammates gave the Panthers the lead, Domercant helped them secure the win with nine consecutive points to increase the Eastern lead to 11 at one point.