ST. THOMAS, USVI – The Eastern Kentucky men's basketball team led from start to finish in a 67-60 victory over Norfolk State Saturday night in the third day of the 2005 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam. With the win, the Colonels move to 1-1 while the Spartans fall to 0-2.

Freshman Mike Rose led all players with 18 points while senior Jason McLeish added 17. Meanwhile, senior Matt Witt tallied 13 points and fellow senior Alonzo Hird recorded 10 points and a team-best seven rebounds.

For Norfolk State, Tony Murphy posted 13 points and Calvin Brown chipped in with eight points and eight boards.

A Witt three-pointer and a jumper by McLeish quickly put Eastern Kentucky out in front, 5-0. Hird's first points of the contest at 13:31 put the Colonels ahead by 11 points, 19-8. Norfolk State slowly chipped away at the deficit and eventually clawed to within two points, 31-29, when Keith Young netted a three-pointer with three minutes remaining in the opening half. However, Rose helped Eastern take a 36-31 advantage into the break by registering a three-pointer and layup in the final two minutes of action.

The Spartans closed the gap to four early in the second stanza, but would get no closer the rest of the way. Back-to-back three-pointers by Rose and McLeish gave the Colonels their largest lead of the game, 62-46, with 4:02 left in the second half.

The win was Jeff Neubauer's first victory as a collegiate head coach.

Eastern Kentucky concludes play in the 2005 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam tomorrow, Nov. 21, against Georgia in the consolation finals. Game time is slated for 6 p.m. EST. Fox College Sports will be picking up the broadcast of the EKU-Georgia tilt.