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CHARLESTON, Ill. – Tyler Laser made his only basket of the game count as his 3-pointer with 6:18 remaining gave Eastern Illinois (3-6) its first lead of the game as the Panthers rallied from 13 points down in the second half to upend Western Illinois 63-56.

The Leathernecks (4-6) connected for 70 percent in the first half as they built a 35-26 halftime lead. WIU continued that hot shooting to open the second half as Josh Rivers hit a 3-pointer with 17:09 left in the game to extend the lead to 39-26. Rivers hit his first six 3-pointers of the game to finish with 24 points.

Eastern Illinois used a balance attack to slowly climb back into the contest. After Laser gave the Panthers their first lead, Edin Suljic extended it to three points making one of two free throws. Rivers connected on a 3-pointer to tie the game at 52-52. Billy Parrish and David Nurse would then hit baskets for EIU and WIU to mark the second tie of the contest at 54-54 with 4:37 left.

Romain Martin hit a jumper two possessions later and EIU never trailed again. EIU would close the game with a 9-2 run as Parrish scored four of his eight points in the closing three minutes.

#T.J. Marion# and Suljic each finished with a game-high 10 points as the Panthers shot 70 percent in the second half. EIU dominated the battle in the paint outscoring WIU 28-12. The Panthers depth also proved vital with EIU winning bench points by a 24-6 margin.

David DuBois added 12 for WIU which finished the game shooting 51 percent as a team.

Eastern Illinois will take off next week for finals returning to action on Dec. 22 when they host Chicago State at Lantz Arena.