RICHMOND, Ky. – Sophomore guard Mike Rose tallied a personal-best 27 points, 22 of which came in the second half, to lead the Eastern Kentucky University men's basketball team to a 70-53 win over former OVC foe East Tennessee State Monday night in McBrayer Arena. The Colonels move to 2-0 for the second time in the last three years while ETSU falls to 1-1.

Rose, a native of Chicago, Ill., connected on 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) field goal attempts to surpass his previous career high by nine points. Fifteen of his 27 points came from behind the arc as the guard nailed 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) three-point attempts as well. Two other Colonels finished in double figures – senior Julian Mascoll (14 points) and freshman Adam Leonard (12).

For the visiting Bucs, guard Courtney Pigram netted a team-high 15 points while center Brad Nuckles chipped in with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Eastern Kentucky trailed by as many as nine points in the first half, 20-11, after Kenyona Swader hit a jumper with 10:31 showing on the clock. However, the Colonels slowly chipped away at the deficit and took their first lead of the game right before halftime, 32-31, when Mascoll turned one of ETSU's 20 turnovers into a fast-break lay-up.

The EKU defense turned up the intensity in the second half and held the Bucs to just six points over the first 10 minutes of action. Three-pointers by Rose and Leonard helped pad the Colonel lead to 10 points, 42-32, with 16:45 left. During a stretch later in the period, Rose went on a run of his own, scoring 17 of 19 EKU points, as the Colonel advantage swelled to 20 points, 63-43. East Tennessee managed to creep to within 12 points late in the half, but would get no closer.

Eastern shot 66.7 percent (14-of-21) from the field in the second half while holding the Bucs to 34.8 percent (8-of-23). For the game, the Colonels attempted 15 more shots than ETSU and also pulled in 15 offensive rebounds. Senior Michael Brock led all players with 10 rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end of the court.

This was the first meeting between the two programs since 1994 with EKU now leading the all-time series, 28-20. East Tennessee State was a member of the Ohio Valley Conference from 1957-78 and is now a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

The Colonels hit the road for their next game against #4 Ohio State on Friday, Nov. 17. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.