RICHMOND, Ky. -- The Eastern Kentucky University Colonels tied a season-best mark of 12 three-point shots made, including 10 in the first half, that helped propel EKU to a machine-like 95-71 victory over visiting UT Martin Saturday afternoon in a regionally-televised Ohio Valley Conference contest at McBrayer Arena.
EKU junior guard Matt Witt tied his career and season high of 27 points (he also scored 27 points in early January in Eastern's 71-67 win over the UTM Skyhawks) as he hit 9-13 from the field, including 4-7 from three-point land. He also dished out 11 assists to complete the double-double and committed just one turnover in 30 minutes of action.
"We took care of things today, from the beginning to the end," said EKU head coach Travis Ford. "Everybody did a good job.
"We had a phenomenal game passing the ball (season-best 26 assists). I told the team after the game that good passes lead to good shots. We took some very good shots and that led to our high percentage (59.0).
"Matt Witt handled the pressure well out there today. He was very unselfish and had a great floor game. He sees a lot of things on the court and turned them into wide open shots today for his teammates."
After leading 16-15 with 12:34 left in the first half, EKU went on a 15-5 run to up that margin to 31-20 with 8:37 to go. EKU finished the last eight minutes, outscoring the Skyhawks 24-15 to lead 55-35 at the break.
EKU hit 61.3 percent in the first half from the field, including 10-17 (58.8 percent) from three-point range. Witt had 20 points to lead the Colonels' attack in the first period.
EKU kept up the offensive pressure in the second half upping its lead to a game-high 31 points (92-61) with 2:38 remaining before settling for the 24-point win.
Junior guard Zach Ingles followed his 15-point effort vs. Murray State Thursday with another solid game shooting the basketball, hitting 6-8 from the field, including 3-5 from three-point range, to add 15 points to Eastern's attack.
Senior guard Ben Rushing also got into the act from long range for EKU, nailing 4-8 from behind the arc, to score a season's best 14 points.
For the game, Eastern hit 59.0 percent (36-61) from the field and 12-24 from three-point range (50.0 percent).
Eastern outrebounded UT Martin, 30-29, with substitute center Darnell Dialls pulling down seven boards.
UT Martin also shot the ball well, making 25-48 from the field for 52.1 percent.
Junior forward Jared Newson had a double-double for the Skyhawks, now 4-15 overall and 1-7 in the OVC, with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Junior center Cleve Woodfork scored 15 for UTM.
EKU, now 13-6 overall and 5-3 in the OVC, closes its five-game homestand Tuesday (Feb. 1) night with an 8:00 p.m. EST contest against arch-rival Morehead State that will be televised live by WYMT-TV in Hazard, KY.
