COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Guard Belton Rivers came off the bench and posted a game-high 22 points to lead Tennessee Tech to a 78-58 win over the Eastern Kentucky men's basketball team Saturday night in the Eblen Center. With the victory, the Golden Eagles move to 16-8 overall and 11-5 in the OVC while the Colonels fall to 10-11 and 7-6.

Senior Matt Witt was the only EKU player to tally double figures with 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting (38.5 percent). It was the first time in 11 games that a Colonel did not reach the 20-point plateau.

A Witt three-pointer surrounded by a pair of points by both junior Julian Mascoll and senior Jason McLeish gave the Colonels an early 7-2 advantage. From there, Tennessee Tech responded with 18 unanswered points to take control of the game. Three-pointers from McLeish and freshman Derek Adams helped Eastern cut the deficit to seven, 22-15, midway through the opening half before TTU notched another big run (13-0) right before intermission to take a 48-29 cushion into halftime.

The Golden Eagles shot 57.1 percent (20-of-35) in the first half with Belton knocking down four trifectas to lead the way for TTU. Tennessee Tech also controlled play on the glass as the host team outrebounded EKU, 21-10.

Eastern came out with a run of its own to begin the second half and crept to within 12 points, 54-42. Witt nailed a pair of three-pointers to key the Colonel spurt. However, Tennessee Tech regrouped with 11 straight points to build a 23-point lead and seal its seventh straight win over Eastern Kentucky in the Eblen Center.

Eastern Kentucky now returns home to face Morehead State on Monday night, Feb. 6. UPN Lexington will be televising the game live beginning at 8 p.m.