The Eastern men’s basketball team fought valiantly Monday night, but it couldn’t keep up with Murray State’s speed in a 59-53 loss in Lantz Arena.

They had trouble tracking down Murray’s guards. Every shot they took was contested.

But tonight’s loss served as a good lesson.

This is what is takes to be at the top of the Ohio Valley Conference.

The Panthers didn’t completely fail against the Racers, they just didn’t win the game.

They will have five remaining OVC games, four of which are on the road.

And they won’t be easy games either.

There’s league-leader Morehead State, an Eastern Kentucky team that always seems to win on a last-second shot in Richmond, Ky., the defending regular season and conference tournament champions Austin Peay and an athletic Tennessee State.

The Panthers will also play Tennessee Martin at home, featuring Lester Hudson, who is the nation’s second-leading scorer and the essentially unbeatable Skyhawks, who are riding an eight-game winning streak.

Seemingly, the Panthers could go 1-4 during the rest of the conference season and make the conference tourney.

But this team doesn’t want that. They want respect in the OVC, and after the past three seasons of 23-63, can you blame them?

To get to respectable standing in the OVC, they need to employ the basic fundamentals that have pushed them to a current fourth-place standing in the OVC.

They need offensive production from everyone, including the bench.

Eastern junior center Ousmane Cisse has found the basket, and he will need to continue to do that if this Eastern team wants to be successful. Junior guard T.J. Marion will be the stat stuffer, junior guard Romain Marin will reach the 1,000 point mark and sophomore guard Tyler Laser will need to be consistent.

The Panthers (11-12, 8-5 OVC) are ahead of Murray State (12-10, 7-5) in the standings, but Eastern will need to continue to win if they want to finish in the top four and host a first-round tournament.

“They’re scary because they have experienced guards,” Murray State junior guard Tyler Holloway said. “It’s huge for us to beat them as conference standings go. I think they’ll continue to be successful in the future.”

There’s still five OVC games left, but Eastern needs to right the ship now and not with two or three games remaining, which they typically tend to, and by then its conference tournament chances are gone.

This season they have a chance to fight for a first round spot, which is unheard of around Eastern and around the conference.

“They’ve got some young guys,” Murray State head coach Billy Kennedy said. “They’re capable of beating anyone in the league. I expect them to finish strong.”

Let’s hope they do.

Kevin Murphy can be reached at 581-7944 or at kjmurphy@eiu.edu.

Eastern junior forward Edin Suljic drives to the basket Monday night against Murray State in Lantz Arena. Suljic finished with nine points. (Karla Browning/The Daily Eastern News)

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