E. Illinois 61, Jacksonville St. 54

Published Dec. 21, 2010 11:12 p.m. ET

foxsports

Shaun Pratl scored on a layup with 2:25 left and hit five free throws down the stretch to lead Eastern Illinois to a 61-54 victory over Jacksonville State on Tuesday night.

Pratl hit a free throw to tie the score at 51 with 4:01 remaining and broke the tie with a layup less than two minutes later.

After two missed 3s from Jeremy Bynum, Pratl extended Eastern Illinois' lead to 55-51 on a pair of free throws with 1:17 to go.

Nick Murphy pulled the Gamecocks (2-11, 0-3 Ohio Valley Conference) to within one, 55-54, on a 3-pointer with less than a minute left.

But Jeremy Granger and Pratl went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line to seal the victory for the Panthers (5-7, 2-2).

Bynum had 18 points to lead Jacksonville State, which has lost seven consecutive games. Stephen Hall added 14 points.

Curry McKinney led Eastern Illinois with 17 points and Pratl finished with 16.