With about 30 seconds to go in overtime, the Panthers had the ball with a chance to tie the game.

Junior guard Jeremy Granger dribbled left off a pick and was met by two Austin Peay players. Granger got the shot off with contact, but no foul was called and Austin Peay got the rebound.

“I knew time was running out. I just wanted to go to the hole strong and try to get a basket. I felt like there was contact, but the referee said (the defender) went straight up and there was no call,” Granger said.

After that, Austin Peay guard Tyshawn Edmondson knocked down two free-throws to seal the victory.

At one point in the game, Eastern’s men’s basketball team held a 13-point lead, but it was unable to hold on for a win, losing 77-73 in overtime.

The Panthers came back from nine points down in the first half to take a lead as large as 13 with 9 minutes remaining in the game.

Then Austin Peay turned up the intensity with a full-court press, which enabled them to tie the game and force overtime.

Eastern had the final possession in the second half; however, Granger was unable to make a running lay-up as time expired.

Granger quickly put the Panthers in the lead in overtime with a lay-up, but a three-point shot and a three-point play put Austin Peay up by four with 1:41 remaining. From that point on, the Panthers never got closer than two points.

The loss dropped Eastern’s record to 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while Austin Peay improved to 5-4 and 2-0 in the OVC.

Head coach Mike Miller said it was a tough loss to take because the Panthers had such a large lead in the second half.

“(The game) came down to turning the ball over and rebounding,” Miller said.

The Panthers committed 19 turnovers, 11 of which came in the second half. Austin Peay dominated in terms of rebounding.

The Governors out rebounded Eastern 37-31, 22 of the 37 rebounds were offensive rebounds.

The 22 Austin Peay offensive rebounds mark the highest total the Panthers have given up this season.

Sophomore forward Sean Pratl led the Panthers with a career-high 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field. He also pulled down seven rebounds.

“(Rebounding) was bad. I think we gave up 13 offensive rebounds in the first half, and it was going good until there was five minutes left in the game. That’s when (Austin Peay) started getting a lot of three-point plays,” Pratl said.

Edmonson had 33 points and 10 rebounds, seven of which were offensive rebounds.

Miller said the Panthers will not dwell on this game because they need to forget about this loss if they are going to be successful the rest of the year.

“We played well in spurts. We know what needs to get fixed. It’s a long year, and there is a lot of road ahead of us,” Miller said.

Rob Mortell can be reached at 581-7944 or at rdmortell@eiu.edu.

Shaun Pratl, a sophomore forward, struggles over the ball with an Austin Peay player Saturday evening in Lantz Arena. The Panthers lost to the Governors 73-77 in overtime. (Audrey Sawyer

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