The Eastern men’s basketball team taught a lesson in resilience Thursday night at Lantz Arena. Despite trailing by nine points in the second half, the Panthers came from behind to defeat the Skyhawks 72-68 and assuring themselves a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

Freshman guard Bobby Catchings led the way with game-highs of 22 points and eight rebounds.

Eastern head coach Rick Samuels said his team didn’t flinch, even after trailing by as many as nine in the second half.

“I don’t know how,” he said. “But all I do know is you never get up.”

After trailing by three at halftime, the Skyhawks (6-20, 3-12) didn’t give up, either.

Tennessee-Martin started the second half with a burst of energy, reeling off a 12-2 run in the first five minutes, putting Eastern down 43-36. But senior guard Emanuel Dildy connected from three-point land to start a 7-2 run, putting Eastern within two at 45-43.

But the Skyhawks quickly responded, going on a 7-0 run over a span of less than a minute to put them up 52-43 with just under 12 minutes to play.

Eastern cut the lead to four on Dilidy’s pull-up jumper in the paint, which made the score 68-64 Tennessee-Martin with 2:50 left to play.

Catchings then tipped in a miss by junior guard Josh Gomes to cut the lead to two, and Eastern knotted things at 68 on another jumper from Dildy.

Skyhawk sophomore Will Lewis missed his attempt to regain the lead, and on the rebound, junior forward Andy Gobczynski was sent to the line when Tennessee-Martin junior center Cleve Woodfork was whistled for over the back.

Gobczynski sank both free throws to put the Panthers up two 70-68 with 28 seconds to play. It was the team’s first lead since 18:03 was left on the clock.

The Skyhawks tried to tie, but Gomes blocked junior guard Justin Smith’s 18-foot jumper into the hands of Gobczynski, who sealed the win with two more free-throws with 5.1 seconds left to play.

Gobczynski finished with seven points and five rebounds, but he was disappointed with his four turnovers.

“I was disappointed with the way I played in the first half, and mid-way through the second, I turned the ball over,” Gobczynski said. “I was just thankful to get a second opportunity.”

The Panthers got a second opportunity after relinquishing a first-half lead.

Eastern led the Skyhawks 34-31 at halftime after leading by as many as nine with just over four minutes remaining.

Tandy opened the game with a bang, scoring the first two points of the night on a one-handed dunk-tip off of a Catching’s miss. Tandy finished the night with 11 points, two blocks and two steals.

The two teams traded hoops, with the Panthers’ pair of freshman starters scoring the team’s first eight points – the last of which coming on Catchings 17-foot jumper putting Eastern up 8-6.

The Skyhawks tied the game 8-8 when Newsom answered with a one-handed dunk of his own. But the Panthers responded to the slam with a 13-5 run.

The Panthers led by as many as nine, taking a 28-19 lead with just over four minutes to play in the half. But Tennessee-Martin responded with an 11-2 run over the next two-and-a-half minutes to tie the score at 30.

Eastern scored with just over a minute left, and after an Eastern stop and timeout, junior guard Jake Sinclair connected with Catchings on a lob, which he slammed home to give Eastern a 34-30 lead with 7.4 seconds on the clock.

The Skyhawks added a free throw before halftime to make it 34-31.

Dildy said Eastern excels when they have to, something that should make them tough come tournament time.

“We tend to play better with our backs against the wall,” he said.

The Panthers finish both their OVC and home schedules Saturday when they take on the Murray State Racers at Lantz Arena at 7:05 p.m. Eastern will honor the team’s four graduating seniors before the game.