Romain Martin had done it before.

The sophomore had made eight of 10 3-pointers during one stretch during practice on Tuesday.

The Panthers left-handed guard nearly equaled that feat in the first 20 minutes of Thursday night’s exhibition game against Division III Monmouth College.

Martin made seven of nine 3-pointers in the first half to let Eastern gain control early in the Panthers 81-46 win at Lantz Arena.

“I was just finding open spots and just shooting the ball,” Martin said.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Martin was able to find spots in Monmouth’s 1-3-1 half-court zone defense. Although exhibition games don’t count toward season statistics, Martin tied his career high with 27 points in the first half. He added four in the second half to finish with 31.

Once he found an open spot, fellow guard Bam Willhite did his part in giving him the ball.

Willhite started at the point guard spot in place of junior Mike Robinson. It was the first time in Robinson’s three-year career at Eastern he didn’t start.

Miller did not say why Robinson didn’t start. Robinson came in with 12:45 left in the first half and played 19 minutes total. He did not score, but finished with four assists.

“That’s kind of just the way we went tonight,” Miller said. “Our lineup could change as we go. It’s just kind of the decision we made. Mike played a lot of minutes and did what we needed to do out there.”

Willhite, who at times looked lost last year in the Panthers triangle offense, seemed comfortable on Thursday. The 6-1, 180-pound senior did not have the best shooting night (1-of-6 in field goal attempts), but handed out five assists to go along with four points.

Miller said an emphasis with Willhitte is finding a role for him and having him play more under control.

Willhite said his increased knowledge of Eastern’s offense this year has changed his style of play.

“Last year, we all didn’t know the offense as well,” he said. “It was 13 new guys new to the offense. This year, it’s only two guys not used to the offense. Now, we all are just clicked in together with this offense and moved the ball a lot better than what we’re used to.”

Martin scored 16 straight points early in the game to start the rout. He made a pull-up 18-foot jump shot, followed by a 3-pointer from the right wing and a 3-pointer from the left wing.

After Monmouth scored to make it 10-4, Martin increased Eastern’s lead again. He made back-to-back 3-pointers from the left wing, and converted a layup to give the Panthers an 18-6 lead.

Martin added 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions later in the half to increase Eastern’s lead to 29-9.

By halftime, the Panthers led 47-19 and could focus on playing different combinations in the second half. Miller played 13 players, with only senior guard Julio Anthony (right foot) and freshman guard Tyler Laser (right arm) not playing because of injuries. Of the 13 that played, 10 played more than 10 minutes.

“We were able to play guys about the amount of minutes we wanted to,” Miller said. “We think one of things that we can do is play some depth and play with some discipline when we play different combinations that people know what their role is.”

Justin Brock, a sophomore forward, gets swatted at while taking a shot during the 81-46 victory over Monmouth College in an exhibition game at Lantz Arena Thursday evening. Eric Hiltner/The Daily Eastern News

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