DECATUR - Eisenhower will assuredly miss Lewis Jackson's ability to score, handle and distribute the ball and lead the team.

But he had one quality above all else that the current Panthers team needs to fill as quickly as it can.

"As a coach, I knew going in to every game that Lewis was not going to let us lose it. I don't know who we have now," Eisenhower coach Jeremy Moore said.

He got a better idea on Tuesday, when junior Jarod Oldham scored all eight of Eisenhower's fourth-quarter points, enabling the Panthers to hold on for a 54-53 victory over Springfield Lanphier in the first round of the Team SOY Capital Decatur Turkey Tourney.

Oldham was huge right when the Panthers (1-0) needed him most. Lanphier (0-1) didn't lead until Karl Madison (24 points) drilled a 3-pointer with six minutes to play.

Eisenhower trailed by three when Oldham put together a quick four-point outburst, giving the Panthers a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

He also drilled two free throws with 22.9 seconds left, pushing the lead to three.

Lanphier cut it to one point with 12 seconds left and got the ball back with eight seconds left with a chance to win after Oldham (12 points) missed the front end of a 1-and-1.

But Justin Smith's contested 30-footer was never on line.

"That's from less than two weeks to prepare for a game," Lanphier coach Chuck Shanklin said. "And give Eisenhower credit. We expected them to pick up man full court, and they fell back and kind of caught us off guard a little bit."

Eisenhower couldn't breathe easy until then, despite leading by as much as 11 early in the third quarter.

The offense was at a standstill in the final quarter before Oldham stepped up.

"In the first half, I already put it in my mind I was going to step up in the second half, not being able to play all those minutes for the foul trouble," Oldham said.

He picked up three fouls in the first five minutes of the game, despite being warned against that since school started.

"I have him in P.E and whatnot and have been telling him, `You can not get in foul trouble this year,' " Moore said. " `You can't get the stupid ones, you can't get the reach-ins.' I don't know how many minutes he played in the first half, but it wasn't many."

Brock Von Nordeck picked up the slack in the first half and led Eisenhower with 24 points and seven rebounds. However, he was a non-factor in the fourth quarter and fouled out with two minutes remaining.

"I'm still convinced he could be the best post player in the state, if he can get it together above the neck. He can do a lot, but I expect a lot out of him," Moore said. "There are times he didn't crash the boards, and he dominated the boards in the first 16 minutes. He's got to do that every single possession, every single second he's out on the floor."

It wasn't pretty, but Eisenhower got the job done. The second test of the season awaits on Friday, in the form of Class 4A No. 9 Bolingbrook.

"The mentality that we've got to win this game. I'm not going to let us lose. That's what I was thinking through the game," Oldham said.

Eisenhower will need plenty of that as the season goes along.

tengle@herald-review.com|421-7970