Charleston, Ill. - The Tennessee State University Tigers missed an opportunity to send the game into overtime suffering an OVC loss to Eastern Illinois, 68-67, in Lantz Arena on Monday night.

With five seconds remaining, Chris Conner was fouled on a three-point attempt hitting the first two before EIU called a timeout. Conner missed the third but the Tigers committed the quick foul leaving 4.9 seconds on the clock.

EIU's Shaun Pratl missed the first shot in the bonus. On the scramble for the rebound, the ball fell loose and was batted around starting the clock. TSU gathered the loose ball but had run out of time and couldn't get off a last second shot.

Wil Peters scored a career and game-high 21 points. He was flawless from the field shooting 7-of-7, including 4-of-4 from three-point range, and 3-of-3 from the line. Peters also tacked on three boards and tied a game-high for a season best six assists.

Robert Covington scored 15 points and hauled in a team-high nine boards, hitting 3-of-6 from the arc. Patrick Miller followed adding 11 points and three assists.

TSU (1-6, 0-1 OVC) shot a season high from the floor, 50 percent, and 52 percent from three-point range. The Tigers shot 64 percent in the first half and tied the game at the buzzer when Miller nailed a three from the corner for a 40-40 deadlock at the break.

With 20 lead changes, the Tigers jumped on a 50-46 lead with 12:40 left. EIU replied with a 7-0 run for a 53-50 advantage. TSU led twice down the stretch with their last coming off a Covington three-pointer with 5:03 remaining. From there, EIU outscored TSU, 9-6, for the final outcome.

For the Panthers (3-4, 1-0 OVC), four players finished in double figures. James Hollowell and Shaun Pratl each scored a team-high, 14 points. Tyler Laser added 13 and Jeremy Granger posted 12 points. Curry McKinney scored seven points but recorded a game-high 10 boards and six assists.

EIU outscored the Tigers in the paint, 34-22, scoring 22 points from TSU turnovers. They also added 18 points from second chance shots on the offensive end.

The Tigers will look to snap their five-game skid in Cape Girardeau, Mo. when they face Southeast Missouri State on Saturday, Dec. 4. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.