RICHMOND, Ky. – The Morehead State men's basketball team picked up just its third win of the season Monday night as the visiting Eagles defeated rival Eastern Kentucky in McBrayer Arena, 78-66. With the win, Morehead improves to 3-17 overall and 2-12 in the OVC while EKU falls to 10-12 and 7-7.

After an even first half of play, Morehead State tallied the first nine points of the second stanza to stake a 47-38 lead. Five Colonel turnovers in that stretch led to five of the nine Eagle points. A few minutes later, a 7-0 Morehead spurt gave the visitors their largest advantage of the game, 54-41.

Eastern finally responded with a run of its own keyed by several offensive rebounds. Junior Michael Brock's second three-pointer of the game helped the Colonels creep to within eight points, 54-46, with 11:31 remaining. Tip-ins by freshman Harrison Brown and senior Alonzo Hird on successive possessions then slashed the deficit to four points, 56-52.

Junior Julian Mascoll's three-pointer from the corner made it a three-point contest at 5:46, 61-58, before things suddenly turned sour for Eastern Kentucky. Over the next four minutes, EKU would go 0-for-4 from the field and commit three turnovers to allow Morehead State to rebuild an 11-point cushion, 70-59. The Colonels would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way, leading to Eastern's fourth loss in its last five outings.

Morehead State's 78 points were the most points it had scored against a Division I opponent this year. Ryan Allen led the charge with 19 points on 80 percent shooting (8-of-10). Guard Quinton Smith chipped in with 17 points and eight assists while center Clinton Reisz pulled in a game-high 13 rebounds.

For Eastern Kentucky, senior Matt Witt paced the squad with 19 points. Mascoll netted 12 points and equaled a career-high with six steals. Meanwhile, Hird registered a season-high 12 rebounds to go along with nine points and two blocks.

Eastern Kentucky is back in action on Thursday, Feb. 9, when the Colonels host league-leader Murray State at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles return home to face Southeast Missouri on Feb. 9 at 7:45 p.m.