RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky men's basketball team trailed by as many as 17 points before cutting the deficit to two late in the contest, but could not get over the hump as visiting UNC Asheville pulled out an 83-77 victory Saturday night in McBrayer Arena. With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 9-16 while the Colonels had their three-game winning streak snapped and fall to 13-14.
Senior Matt Witt led Eastern with 28 points, 24 of which came in the second half when he knocked down six three-pointers. Fellow senior Jason McLeish netted 25 points in 39 minutes of action.
For UNC Asheville, center Joseph Barber equaled a personal high with 21 points. Three other Bulldogs recorded double figures including Chad Mohn (11 points) who finished with a game-best eight rebounds.
The first half was a game of streaks with Eastern jumping out to an early 9-3 lead. UNC Asheville responded with the next 11 points by knocking down three trifectas. The Colonels managed to regain the lead, 16-15, before UNC Asheville rolled off the following 12 points to stake a 27-16 advantage. UNC Asheville then stretched its cushion to 17 points on an Omar Collington three-pointer, 42-25. However, a late 8-0 spurt by Eastern helped cut the deficit to just 11 points at the break, 44-33.
UNC Asheville connected on 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) three-point attempts in the opening half and held Eastern to less than 40 points at intermission for the first time in four games.
Witt's first three-pointer of the second half at 17:17 made the game a six-point affair, 48-42. Three straight Bulldog buckets moments later helped the visitors reestablish a double-digit lead. Seven unanswered EKU points, capped by another Witt trifecta, midway through the period then brought the Colonels to within four points, 63-59.
Timely three-pointers by Oliver Holmes and Barber allowed UNC Asheville to hold off the Eastern charge over the next few minutes. Finally, a pair of Witt free throws sliced the Bulldog advantage to just two points, 73-71, with 2:53 remaining. The Colonels had a chance to tie inside of two minutes, but turned the ball over.
Ahead by two with less than 30 seconds left, UNC Asheville worked a pick-and-roll to get Barber an open jump shot in the lane which he converted to put the Bulldogs up, 79-75. Freshman Harrison Brown's three-point attempt on EKU's ensuing possession rattled in and out before UNCA netted all four free throw attempts down the stretch to seal the win.
This was the first meeting between the schools since the 1988-89 season. The game was played as part of the ESPN Bracket Buster event with Eastern Kentucky representing the Ohio Valley Conference and UNC Asheville coming from the Big South Conference.
Eastern Kentucky winds down the regular season this week with two crucial OVC tilts. The Colonels first host Austin Peay on Thursday, Feb. 23, beginning at 7:30 p.m. UNC Asheville next travels to High Point on Monday night.
