NASHVILLE–– The Eastern men’s basketball team tipped-off its fourth consecutive Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Wednesday night, and was sent home after just one game.

The Panthers took on Murray State in the first round, and was eliminated from the tournament with a 78-62 loss.

“It was a good year regardless of what anyone is going to say,” Eastern coach Jay Spoonhour said. “We have all these guys with the exception of a couple coming back next year.”

Eastern struggled for most of the night, shooting 2-10 from the field to start the game, and allowing Murray State to jump out to a quick lead.

The Panthers struggled on both sides of the ball, but especially on offense.

Eastern’s top scorers could not get much going either, as senior Trae Anderson and junior Demetrius McReynolds did not have a shot attempt in the first half.

“I thought they guarded us really well,” Spoonhour said. “They defensively took us out of a lot of stuff that we have been able to do all year.”

Junior A.J. Riley was the only player to score in double-digits to start the game, as he went into the half with 11 points.

The Panthers shot just 38 percent from the field in the first, and came out in the second half with more of the same.

Eastern began the second half shooting 1-8 from the field, and finished the game shooting 40 percent.

Riley was not able to capitalize on his strong first half, as the Murray State defense was just too much for the Panthers.

“We were out there trying to survive, but they just played really good defensively,” Spoonhour said.

While there were small glimpses of hope that Eastern could turn things around, the obstacles only grew as the game went on.

The Panthers were plagued by three technical fouls in the game, with all of them seemingly coming at the worst time.

With the fouls adding up, and the Murray State offense pouring it on, Eastern fell apart.

The Panthers allowed four players from Murray State to finish with double-digit points, as Wayne Langston led the way with 22.

“They shot it well early, and we couldn’t get any stops,” Spoonhour said. “Langston is really good at posting up, and they were able to get it to him.”

While Eastern struggled to get defensive stops, the team did not get much on the offensive side either.

McReynolds rebounded in the second half, finishing with 14 points, but Anderson could not get anything to fall.

In his final game for the Panthers, Anderson finished the game with just six points.

Anderson shot 2-10 from the field while grabbing six rebounds.

With Eastern’s leading scorer struggling, other players had to step up although it wasn’t enough.

Sophomore Cornell Johnston finished with 12 points, and freshman Patrick Muldoon scored 10 points in the game off the bench.

Although the loss stings for the Panthers, there is still plenty of hope for next season.

Spoonhour said he is optimistic in what this team can do in the next few seasons.

With optimism high for the future, Spoonhour has one thing in mind for the Panthers.

Spoonhour said he wants his team to be able to earn the double-bye in the future, which can be done by earning one of the top two seeds in the tournament.

“We have things we have to get better at, but I don’t think we are far from being able to play on Friday,” Spoonhour said.

The top two seeds do not have to play in the first two days of the tournament, and automatically advance to the semi-final round that is played Friday.

Optimism will continue to rise for the program, as the Panthers are bringing back 11 players next season.

Maher Kawash can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].