Sophomore guard Tyler Laser was held scoreless in the first half of Eastern’s game.

But he found his mark in the second half Saturday against Morehead State, and scored a team-high 18 points to lead the Panthers to a 67-61 win at Lantz Arena.

The Panthers’ (8-9, 5-2 Ohio Valley Conference) win maintains their hold on third place in the league behind Morehead State (9-10, 6-2 OVC) and Austin Peay (10-7, 6-1 OVC).

Eastern trailed 56-55 with 4 minutes, 22 seconds remaining, but Laser hit one of his four second half 3-pointers to give the Panthers the lead, which they never relinquished.

Laser hit another huge shot with 1:24 left in the game as the Panthers were clinging to a three-point lead. As the shot clock was winding down, Laser hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key, icing the contest for the Panthers.

He was also perfect from the line down the stretch, going 4-for-4 as Eastern won its fifth OVC game.

Eastern head coach Mike Miller said Laser was unable to get open in the first half, but in the second half he found pockets and took advantage by knocking down jump shots.

“He wanted the ball and was able to score which boosted the tempo,” Miller said. “He got going at the right time and his scoring was very timely.”

Eastern trailed by as many as eight in the first half, and by as many as seven in the second half, but both times were able to battle back. The game was tied at 33-33 at halftime.

Down low it was a battle between Eastern junior center Ousmane Cisse and Morehead sophomore center Kenneth Faried. Faried bested Cisse with 16 rebounds to Cisse’s 11, but Cisse won the battle in points 15-9.

Eastern junior guards Romain Martin and T.J. Marion paced the Panthers with 10 and 11 points, respectively. Morehead sophomore guard Demonte Harper led the team with 16 points.

This is the second game Eastern has taken the lead in the second half and been able to shut down their opponent down the stretch.

“The drills we do in practice prepare us for those situations,” Laser said. “We played together as a team. After plays, we were not walking away from each other or cussing under our breath. We were together.”

Cisse said it was a team effort from all five spots on the floor.

“We knew they could rebound, and we needed every position on the court to rebound,” Cisse said. “I think we did a good job doing that and we had plenty of urgency on defense.”

Eastern’s next game will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against Murray State in Murray, Ky.

Dan Cusack can be reached at 581-7944 or dscusack@eiu.edu.

Men’s Basketball League Standings

Team / OVC / Overall

Austin Peay / 6-1 / 10-7

Morehead State / 6-2 / 9-10

E. Illinois / 5-2 / 8-9

Tennessee Martin / 5-3 / 12-6

E. Kentucky / 4-4 / 10-8

Tennessee Tech / 3-4 / 9-8

Murray State / 3-4 / 8-9

Tennessee State / 3-4 / 5-12

Jacksonville State / 2-5 / 8-8

Southeast Missouri / 0-8 / 3-16