Eastern won its first Ohio Valley Conference game of the season with a 24-21 win against Southeast Missouri today at O’Brien Stadium.

The Panthers (3-4, 1-2 OVC) got the majority of their yardage on the ground, as their rushing game pushed them to the win with 199 yards on the ground.

Eastern red-shirt senior running back Travorus Bess had 124 yards rushing on 20 carries. Freshman running back Desmin Ward only got six carries, but he put three of them across the goal line to score all of Eastern’s touchdowns.

Red-shirt senior Tyler Wilke was 1-of-2 on field goal attempts, and his 40-yard make with 9 minutes, 2 seconds remaining secured the Panthers’ win.

Eastern’s defense held the Redhawks (2-5, 0-3 OVC) to 133 yards rushing and 64 yards passing. Senior running back Timmy Holloman led SEMO with 84 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 23 carries.

Eastern returns to action on Oct. 25 against Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, Ky.