COOKEVILLE, Tenn.- If it had been a 34-minute game, the Eastern men’s basketball team would have won in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference .

But in the last six minutes Tuesday night at Tennessee Tech, the Panthers found themselves doing something they hadn’t done all night – trail.

After taking the lead for the first time with four minutes 36 seconds left, the Golden Eagles never let go and hung on to defeat Eastern 72-68 at the Eblen Center, ending the Panthers’ 2004-05 season.

The Panthers led by as many as 14 in the second half, but Eastern head coach Rick Samuels said Tennessee Tech’s defense swung momentum back to the Golden Eagles.

“Their defense is what dictated us,” he said. “And I thought we played solid defense, too, but the difference is we gave them chances to get to the free-throw line.

“Their defense didn’t give us chances to get to the free-throw line.”

The Golden Eagles (18-10) made 23-of-24 from the foul line in the second half, while Eastern made 4-of-5.

“Free throws were big because we weren’t making any other shots,” Tech senior forward Willie Jenkins said. “It’s what won the game for us tonight.”

Jenkins lead the Golden Eagles with 17 points on 5-of-18 shooting, making all six of his free-throw attempts.

Senior guard Emanuel Dildy scored a game-high 20 points. Freshman guard Bobby Catchings finished with 15, and senior guard Josh Gomes scored 11 in the losing cause.

After a 6-2 run to start the second half put Eastern ahead 38-24, Tennessee Tech tightened its defensive pressure, while it heated up offensively. The Golden Eagles held Eastern scoreless for nearly four minutes and cut the Panther lead down from 14 to three.

“When you’re not scoring in a row, it takes away your confidence,” Catchings said.

Tech took their first lead of the game with 4:36 to go when senior Ben Jacobsen sank an open three-pointer to put the Golden Eagles ahead 52-49.

The lead change came during another Panther scoring drought, this one lasting over five and a half minutes. Over that stretch, Eastern went from leading 49-46 to trailing 56-49.

The Panthers would never have the ball down three or less the rest of the way, but didn’t go quietly.

Dildy scored 15 points in the game’s final 1:33, but Eastern could never get within three, as Tech sank free throw after free throw.

“Our effort, intensity and our focus were as good as they could be,” Samuels said. “And, we made them beat us, and they certainly made some big plays to beat us.”

The first half, the Panthers looked more like the OVC’s top seed, as they led 32-22 at the break.

The Panthers exploited Tennessee Tech’s defensive pressure in the first half, getting easy looks near the rim from penetration and back door cuts.

When Eastern wasn’t scoring from inside the paint, they were connecting from beyond the three-point arc. Led by Catchings’ three three-point baskets, the Panthers shot 5-of-9 from three-point land in the first half. Catchings’ nine points led the team at the half to go along with his three blocks.”

The first half we didn’t have any pressure on us,” Catchings said. “We knew if we came out and played our game, we could play with them.”

As a team, Eastern hit on half of their shots, downing 12-of-24.

Tennessee Tech did force Eastern into committing 12 first-half turnovers, but the Golden Eagles couldn’t convert any into baskets, while Eastern scored five points off of Tech’s nine turnovers.

Tech had trouble converting on any of the possessions, in fact, shooting just 26.7 percent.

Jenkins’ nine points led the Golden Eagles’ attack, but he connected on just 3-of-11 from the field.

Jenkins said he knew the Panthers were going to give his team all it could handle.

“I wish their season wasn’t over,” Jenkins said. “But, I’m glad ours is still going.”