On a night where senior guard Henry Domercant picked up Panther head coach Rick Samuels during Senior Night celebrations, his fellow teammates carried the nation’s third-leading scorer.

Domercant ended the night with 24 points, but 18 came in the final 20 minutes and only hit 6-of-15 field goals.

“A lot of people stepped up and people like (senior guard J.R. Reynolds) had a huge game,” Domercant said.

This was the Panthers 10th game against Austin Peay that came down to a margin of seven points or less.

“I don’t know how many more EIU-Austin Peay games I can take,” Samuels said. “This had a post-season tournament atmosphere in the second half.”

This rivalry game was a nailbiter for the entire 40 minutes with the largest lead held by the Governors at eight points early in the second half.

“I personally play off emotion and the crowd was excited tonight,” senior center Jan Thompson said.

Thompson’s two layups while being fouled in the second half allowed the 5,020 fans in attendance to make some noise.

“It’s fun to have moments that are appreciated like that after five years here,” Thompson said.

Senior guard Ramon Taylor provided seven points, three assists, two steals and most importantly, no turnovers in 12 minutes of action, while fellow senior guard Craig Lewis battled with foul trouble the entire evening.

“They didn’t know what to do with Ramon the entire night because he’s so fast,” Thompson said.

Eastern (13-13, 8-6) went into the locker room down 41-36, but came out rejuvenated after being told of Murray State’s upset loss to Eastern Kentucky.

“Jesse knew about it because he came out and told everyone to get going,” Domercant said.

Within five minutes of action, Eastern erased the Governors’ (17-7, 10-3) eight-point lead and suddenly the Panthers were up 50-47.

With 11:50 left in the game, Eastern rode the momentum from junior Jesse Mackinson’s dunk, Domercant’s three pointer and a Craig Lewis layup to take a 62-59 lead into a media timeout.

“I didn’t want coach to take me out, and when I wasn’t playing well, he gave me that look,” Domercant said.

Even though the Governors shot nearly 50 percent (11 of 23) from beyond the arc, they only made one three-pointer in the last 10 minutes of play.

“We were solid defensively in the second half tonight,” Samuels said.

Eastern never lost the lead after the ten minute mark and the Panthers iced the victory by making 13 of 14 free throws in the last eight minutes of the game.

Because of Murray State and Tennessee – Martin losses Thursday night, it’s possible that Eastern may play one more game at Lantz Arena this season.

“Coach (Samuels) told us in practice that we have to win our last three to get that four seed in the tournament,” Domercant said.