MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Eastern Kentucky put together a big defensive effort and a dominant performance on the glass to grab a 79-69 win over Robert Morris (2-6).

The Colonels (6-1) jumped out to an early lead, going up 11-5 after a Michael Haney layup with 15:43 left in the opening half, but the Colonials reeled off four straight points, to cut the lead back to two at 11-9.

RMU and EKU battled back and forth for most of the reminder of the half, with Robert Morris fighting back to knot the score at 19 following an and-one play from Mark Anderson.

A fast-break dunk from Julian Mascoll swung the momentum back toward the Colonels, and the team went on to build the lead to eight as time expired in the first half as EKU took a 38-30 advantage into the locker room.

Anderson started the Colonials in the second half, hitting a layup on the first RMU possession, but Eastern answered with a trey from Jason McLeish and a layup from Matt Witt to put the lead up to 11 at 43-32.

The Colonels would push the lead to as many as 18 points following a Zach Ingles trey, but the Colonials quickly returned fire, turning in a 9-2 run that cut the lead back to 64-53 behind a pair of free throws from Chaz McCrommon.

RMU would shave the lead down to as few as nine points with 46 second remaining in the contest, but could come no closer as EKU took care of business at the charity stripe to seal the victory.

"I thought Ryan [Wiersma] came in and put the clamps on Anderson. He played great minutes tonight and I thought he was the difference in the game," said head coach Travis Ford. "I also thought we did a good job against their guards. I predict Robert Morris will win their league and go to the NCAA Tournament, which makes this a great win for us."

Ford's squad was dominant on the boards in the game, outrebounding Robert Morris 45-25, with four Colonels collecting five or more rebounds in the game.

Ingles paced the Colonels with a career-high 23 points. The Gowen, Mich., native also gathered in a career-high seven rebounds in the game.

Three other Colonels turned in double-figures in scoring. Michael Haney turned in his second double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 boards, McLeish scored 17, and Witt scored 14.

Anderson paced the Colonials with 19 points.

Eastern's next game comes at home on Dec. 14 at 7:30 PM against Greenville College before the team embarks on a seven-game road swing.