C.J. James could get used to this.

The junior cornerback picked off his fourth pass of the season in Saturday’s 28-20 victory over Jacksonville State.

He is the only Panther with multiple interceptions this season, and his latest couldn’t have come at a better time.

With the Panthers leading by eight with less than two minutes remaining, senior Louisiana State transfer and Walter Payton Award nominee Ryan Perrilloux was driving his offense for a potential game-tying drive.

Perrilloux, who entered the game with 15 touchdown passes and one interception, brought his team into Eastern territory with a steady drive, and looked to keep the momentum and the drive alive with the Gamecocks’ facing a fourth and five.

But his pass sailed into the arms of James who returned it 19 yards to the 45-yard line.

Three rushing plays and a kneel later, the Panthers were victorious.

For James, the interception was a defining moment of the game.

“I wasn’t feeling too great because in the first half I felt like I was trying to do too much,” said James, whose four interceptions ranks him third in the Ohio Valley Conference. “Helping my team out by getting that interception made me feel really good.”

James said shutting down Perrilloux was a dubious challenge, and it was exciting to be able to intercept one of his passes considering Perrilloux did not throw one against Football Bowl Subdivision teams Georgia Tech and Florida State.

He said while the challenge was stopping the star quarterback, other Gamecocks playmakers made it a tough challenge.

“He’s a great player, but he’s not the whole team,” James said. “They have other key players. We just tried to control him because if we could control him, we can limit the big plays. He has big play receivers and we were just able to stay in our zones and keep our eyes where they’re supposed to be.”

Eastern defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni said he was proud of James and the rest of his unit for the success they had stopping Perrilloux. He said there were a number of different combinations the team used to be successful.

“We always have different looks and this week it was no different,” Bellantoni said. “We had different blitzes, new coverages that might have confused him a little bit. We wanted to get in his head early by doing different things.”

James said Saturday’s victory was huge for the Panthers and got the team in the right mindset for the rest of the season.

“It makes you feel good when you go into someone’s house as the underdog and beat them on their Homecoming,” said James, who is also tied for fifth in the OVC with eight passes defended. “It gives you motivation for next week.”

The Panthers conclude a two-game road trip Saturday when they travel to Murray State to take on the Racers. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Murray, Ky.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.