With all the complicated defensive schemes and offensive sets, the Panthers men’s basketball team can look at something relatively simple after its 81-68 loss to Tennessee Tech – having possession of the ball.

Tennessee Tech employed a three-quarter-court press and forced the Panthers into numerous turnovers in the backcourt, leading to an array of dunks and lay-ups.

And when the Ohio Valley Conference’s first-place Golden Eagles (11-6, 6-0 OVC) didn’t convert on their scoring attempts, they swarmed to the offensive glass to maintain possession.

Senior guard Emanuel Dildy said confidence faded as frustration settled in with the Panthers (6-11, 1-5) unable to get offensive chances.

“It’s like a back-breaker,” he said. “I don’t care how in-shape you are, that’s like 60 seconds where you’re sticking defense.

“That wore us down a lot, and then we’re having to take the ball out and try and beat their press.”

Early in the second half, the Panthers led 41-36 on junior guard Josh Gomes’ lay-in. But on the ensuing possession, freshman center George Tandy fouled Tech sophomore forward Jonathan Jones.

Jones missed both free throws, but senior forward Willie Jenkins hauled in the rebound and scored on the put-back. The basket started a 19-5 run which sucked the life out of an Eastern upset.

“When we got deflated, when the press took its toll, we were flat-footed,” Eastern head coach Rick Samuels said. “And, they had all kinds of life and were flying all over the boards.”

In the first-half, the Panthers won the battle on the board, grabbing 17 rebounds to Tech’s 14.

But in the second half, Dildy said, Tennessee Tech controlled the ball.

“The crazy part was we were out-rebounding them at the half,” he said. “In the second half, it felt like they had the ball for a long time because of the offensive rebounds and turnovers.”

The Golden Eagles forced Eastern into 20 turnovers in the game, ten in each half.

“We only had 10 (turnovers) in the second half, but it probably looked like 30 because they were back-to-back,” Dildy said.

The Golden Eagles’ quickness and aggressive pressure kept Eastern from getting the ball across half court, a place where they were successful, senior forward Aaron Patterson said.

“They’re good athletes, but we didn’t take care of the ball,” Patterson said.

Samuels said the more aggressive team tends to get most of the breaks, like gaining possession of a rebound that gets “batted around.”

And those breaks, he said, are enough to affect a team’s psyche.

“I think the fatigue we showed wasn’t as much physical fatigue as it was mental fatigue,” Samuels said. “When those downs happen in our games, we lose an edge.

“And that makes us feel fatigued.”