Eastern got exactly what it needed Saturday at Tennessee-Martin – a close win on the road.

Senior guard Henry Domercant hit a free throw with 29 seconds remaining to secure an 85-84 victory over the Skyhawks (13-11, 6-7).

The Panthers (12-13, 7-6) brought the ball up the court with the score tied 84-84 when Domercant was fouled away from the ball by Skyhawk guard Earl Bullock. Domercant hit one of his two free throws for the winning basket.

Eastern head coach Rick Samuels was pleased to see his team step up offensively away from Lantz Arena.

“It was a great offensive game by us,” Samuels said. “I thought we executed the ball well tonight and shot the ball as well as we have all season.”

Things didn’t start as well for the Panthers as they ended. Midway through the first half, the Skyhawks took advantage of an 11-1 run to build a 27-18 lead.

Eastern responded well to end the half and took a 51-42 lead into the locker room.

The Skyhawks spent the entire second half chipping away at the Panthers’ lead until they finally tied it up at 74-74 with 5:42 left in the game. The game would be tied five more times before Domercant sank his free throw.

The Skyhawks had one more shot to retake the lead, but Domercant partially blocked Martin’s Okechi Egbe’s shot with three seconds remaining.

A solid team performance on the offensive end helped lead the way for Eastern. The Panthers placed five players in double digits with Domercant having a game-high 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field.

“I think we could go right down the line here,” Samuels said. “Henry had a great game with more than just shooting. (Junior center Jesse Mackinson) was solid, J.R. Reynolds hit some big shots for us and (freshman guard Josh Gomes) was off to a great start early.”

Reynolds scored 15 points with 4-of-8 shooting from behind the three-point line while Gomes and Mackinson added 11 and 10 points respectively.

Senior guard Craig Lewis had a near double-double with 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

The Skyhawks also had their scoring spread out through their lineup with four players reaching double figures. Forward J.C. Howe went on a second-half tear to finish the night with 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting to lead Martin.

Eastern shot 54.7 percent from the field compared to Martin’s 48.6. The Panthers were hot from behind the three-point line by shooting 57.9 percent.

The Panthers were stricken by the injury bug again when Gomes suffered a dislocated finger to his non-shooting hand with 11 minutes remaining in the second half. X-rays will be taken to make sure there is no more damage to the finger.

The Panthers come back to Lantz Thursday to what could be the last career games for Eastern’s five seniors including the Panthers’ all-time leading scorer Domercant. Eastern still has hopes of securing the fourth spot in the conference, but will need to finish the season strong and get help from other teams.

“There’s some hope now,” Samuels said. “Obviously we feel good with this win and are going to go home with some confidence.”