CINCINNATI, Ohio – In a non-conference battle Monday evening, host Xavier of the Atlantic 10 fought off the Eastern Kentucky men's basketball team in Cintas Center, 82-63. With the win, the Musketeers improve to 10-2 overall while the Colonels fall to 6-8.
Senior Matt Witt led all scorers and tied his personal best with 27 points in the setback. The guard also tied a school single-game record with seven three-pointers on the evening. Fellow senior Jason McLeish (11 points) was the only other EKU player to record double figures.
Eastern Kentucky quieted the crowd of 9,708 fans early on by jumping out to a 16-9 lead. A trio of long range shots by Witt and another by freshman Harrison Brown contributed to the Colonel advantage.
A fast-break layup by freshman Mike Rose then gave EKU a slim 22-21 edge with 7:44 remaining in the first half. However, Xavier responded with seven straight points over the next three minutes to go out in front, 28-22.
The two teams exchanged buckets before the Musketeers took a 32-28 lead into the intermission. Eastern Kentucky outrebounded Xavier in the first half, 17-12, while holding the Musketeers without an offensive rebound.
Xavier looked like it was ready to pull away from EKU in the second half until McLeish connected on back-to-back three-pointers to get the Colonels to within three points, 44-41. Following another Witt trifecta and Xavier missed jumper, Eastern had a chance to regain the lead with 12 minutes left in regulation. Rose tried to knock down his first three-pointer of the game from the right wing, but came up just short. On Xavier's next possession, Josh Duncan hit his lone three-pointer to give the Musketeers some breathing room, 49-44.
Seven minutes later, the Colonels were only down eight points, 62-54, when Xavier started a 13-2 run to finally end any thoughts of an EKU upset.
Eastern Kentucky connected on 12 three-pointers, the most by any Xavier opponent this season. The Colonels also shot 48 percent (12-of-25) from behind the arc, the best performance against XU in 2005-06. Coming into tonight's contest, Xavier was leading the nation in three-point field goal defense at 25.7 percent.
Forward Brian Thornton paced the Musketeers with 25 points, 19 of which came in the final 20 minutes, and nine rebounds. Justin Doellman chipped in with 15 points and five assists.
Eastern Kentucky returns to conference play this Thursday when the Colonels travel to rival Morehead State. The game will be televised regionally by UPN Lexington beginning at 8:05 p.m.
