It was another nail-biter for Eastern’s men’s basketball team as the Panthers snuck out a 72-69 win against non-conference opponent Stony Brook.

The Panthers started the game off hot, jumping out to an early 13-6 lead; however, Stony Brook would answer with an impressive 20-1 run. The run put the Sea Wolves up 26-14 with four minutes remaining in the first half.

Although Eastern had seemingly lost most of its momentum, it found a way to answer Stony Brook’s run with a run of its own. Over the next four minutes, the Panthers would score more points than they did the rest of the first half. Their 15-4 run was highlighted by a pull-up three point shot by freshman guard Joey Miller.

Head coach Mike Miller said it is good that Eastern can go on big runs, but he does not want to have to rely on catching up the entire season.

The second half was back and forth, as neither team was able to build a substantial lead. But with 11 minutes and 51 seconds remaining in the game, the Panthers took a 51-49 lead and would never give it up.

Eastern’s second crucial run, this time an 8-0 run, put it ahead eight with seven minutes remaining. Stony Brook would never get closer than two points away for the rest of the game, as some clutch free throws by Joey Miller and senior guard Jeremy Granger iced the game.

Granger said winning these close games give the team a lot of confidence.

“Down the stretch, we are not breaking, we are staying together,” Granger said. “And we know that if we stay together and play as a team we can overcome anthing.”

Granger came through with an impressive all-around performance. He led the team with 25 points and six assists, but he also added seven rebounds and was 5 of 5 from the free-throw line.

Senior forward Zavier Sanders showed off his skill set with a season-high 16 points. Sanders shot 7-of-11 from the field and hit 15 footer after 15 footer to help the Panthers close out the game. He also added seven rebounds, four of which were offensive.

Sanders said he was just taking what the defense gave him.

“Once you hit one, two or three (shots) the rest get pretty easy to hit,” Sanders said.

“My teammates were finding me and we got some good ball movement and (the shots) were just dropping.”

Senior forward Al Rapier, who scored 19 points off the bench, led Stony Brook. Fifteen of his 19 points came in the second half. Rapier also grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds.

With the win, the Panthers improve to 5-2 this season and 4-0 at home. Stony Brook falls to 2-4 this season.

Mike Miller said the team is getting some big wins early in the season and that gives him and the team a lot of confidence as the move forward.

“It has been a rugged two weeks,” Miller said. “I think this is a tough stretch. We really needed to be at home now.”

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