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NASHVILLE - Eastern Illinois could not hold on to a slim halftime lead as the Panthers (9-20, 4-14 OVC) lost their season finale 66-62 on Saturday evening at Tennessee State. The Tigers improved to 14-15, 10-8 OVC.

The Panthers shot 52 percent in the opening half as they built a 35-32 lead. Senior Curry McKinney scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half. Robert Covington scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the opening half to keep the Tigers in the contest.

Each team held a seven point during the first half. The Panthers pulled ahead by seven points at the 11:54 mark as James Hollowell's jumper put the Panthers up 15-7. TSU led by seven points at the 5:36 mark on a dunk by Covington that put the Tigers up 27-20. EIU closed the half on a 15-5 run capped by Taylor Jones 3-pointer with 46 seconds left.

Hollowell's jumper with 18:03 remaining put EIU up seven points to open the second half. Hollowell finished with 14 points hitting 7-of-14 from the floor.

The two teams traded the lead over the next 13 minutes with the ninth tie of the contest coming with 3:53 left on a 3-pointer by McKinney. EIU would be held scoreless over the next three minutes as TSU pulled ahead 63-58 as they hit five of seven free throws including a pair by Kenny Moore. Moore had 11 points as four TSU players finished in double figures.

EIU shot 31 percent from the floor in the second half and 40 percent for the game. Jeremy Granger finished with nine points including 3-of-4 from the free throw line as he fell just shy of the EIU single season free throw percentage record ending the year at 90.4 percent (103-for-114).