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CHARLESTON, Ill. – No. 4 seed Eastern Illinois shot a season-high 61.5 percent from the floor to hold off No. 5 seed Eastern Kentucky in the 2010 OVC tournament quarterfinals Tuesday evening, 68-61. The Panthers (19-11) have now won eight straight games to roll into the tourney semifinals Friday.

Junior Justin Stommes paced EKU (20-12) with 14 points. However, the guard was held to just three points in the second half. Senior Papa Oppong and junior Spencer Perrin each chipped in with 13 points.

Four players finished in double figures for Eastern Illinois led by T.J. Marion’s 15 points. Jeremy Granger added 14 points and five assists.

Eastern Kentucky took a 35-31 lead into halftime thanks to some timely three-point shooting. After EIU’s Tyler Laser connected on a three to put the Panthers ahead by five, 23-18, Oppong responded with a three of his own to bring the Colonels within two.

Stommes later connected on back-to-back trifectas to give EKU a slim 30-27 lead. A Perrin free throw with 58 ticks before half game Eastern Kentucky its largest lead of the game, 35-29.

Eastern Illinois opened the second half by scoring seven of the first nine points to jump back in front. Over the next few minutes, the two teams would exchange buckets before a Perrin jumper at 11:54 gave Eastern Kentucky its last lead of the evening, 47-45.

The Colonels trailed by just one, 54-53, with seven minutes left only to see Eastern Illinois score eight consecutive points to gain some breathing room. During that stretch, the Panthers blocked EKU’s shot attempt on three straight possessions.

Trailing by nine with 2:13 left, Eastern Kentucky made one final charge behind three-pointers from Stommes and Oppong to cut the deficit to three points, 64-61, with 1:08 showing on the clock. Eastern Illinois answered on its next possession when James Hollowell netted a baseline 15-foot jumper with 34 seconds remaining. Stommes’ three-point attempt rattled in-and-out the next time up the court, ending Eastern Kentucky’s bid to reach to the OVC semifinals for the first time since 2007.

The host Panthers shot 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from the floor and outrebounded the Colonels, 22-5, in the second half.

This was the first meeting between the two teams in the OVC tournament. Eastern Kentucky is now 0-6 in OVC tournament road games since 1997.