The Eastern Kentucky Colonels have won five straight games including Saturday night's 71-67 win over Eastern Illinois, and have put themselves into position to host a first round playoff game for the first time in the Travis Ford era.

The Colonels got another huge performance from sophomore Matt Witt, who scored 23 points, dished out six assists, and picked up a steal while committing only two turnovers. Witt was especially big in the second half, scoring 15 points during the period. Of those 15, three came from the foul line with under 25 seconds to play.

The Colonels played from behind for a majority of the game. EIU built an 11-point lead on two occasions in the first half, the second coming after an Andy Gobczynski tip-in with 7:05 to go.

The Colonels would battle back and cut the lead to one at 28-27 after a Michael Haney jumper with 1:19 left in the period, but the Panthers would rally to take a five-point lead into the locker room after a pair of free throws from Josh Gomes.

The Colonels would open the second half on a 7-0 run, finally knotting the score at on a Haney jumper.

The Panthers, who were playing to keep their tournament hopes alive, roared back to grab a six-point lead on an Aaron Patterson dunk.

Witt would bring the Colonels back, cutting the lead to 48-47 with 9:15 to play.

After getting close only to see EIU pull away again, the Colonels would finally grab their first lead on a Bentley layup with 8:07 remaining. The Colonels would not trail again.

Witt would give the Colonels their largest lead at 60-54 with a layup, but the Panthers would mount an 8-2 run to knot the score at 62 with 2:49 to go, capped by a Gomes trey.

It was Bentley again hitting a big shot with 1:17 left, giving the Colonels a 66-64 advantage that they would not relinquish again.

Witt led the Colonels offensively, while Ben Rushing added 17, Haney posted 16, and Bentley chipped in with 11. Bentley led the Colonels on the boards with seven.

Eastern Illinois' Gomes scored 20 to lead the Panthers.

"We kept pounding it inside in the second half because we though they would foul us or we would make the shot," said EKU head coach Travis Ford.

Ford continued, "We played though some bad weather here tonight, but we kept our umbrellas up and didn't get wet. Once it quit raining, we put the umbrellas down and went to work."

The win sets up a huge matchup on Tuesday as the Colonels will take on Morehead State in a game that has huge implications for the upcoming OVC Tournament. Eastern Kentucky has put itself into position to host a home game in the first round and winner of the contest is likely to secure a home spot.

The game also gives EKU the tiebreaker over a majority of the teams that are below them in the standings that would have a chance to challenge for a home seed. Saturday's 80-77 loss to SEMO, puts EKU and Morehead State in a tie for third place in the league race.

Tuesday night will also feature the annual senior day celebration prior to tip-off.