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RICHMOND, Ky. – On the night that Eastern Kentucky unveiled its 2006-07 Ohio Valley Conference championship banner, the Colonels opened the 2007-08 season by beating West Virginia Wesleyan, 78-45, at McBrayer Arena. Mike Rose led Eastern Kentucky (1-0) with a game-high 25 points, Darnell Dialls scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Jamaal Douglas finished with 12 points and eight boards.

EKU got its 2007-08 season off to a great start and won its home opener for the 10th straight time.

Rose connected on 10 of his 16 shot attempts, including 3-of-6 from beyond the three-point arch. He added five steals and six rebounds. Josh Daniel came off the bench to score 14 points.

The Colonels shot 60.6 percent on their way to scoring 50 points in the first half and building a 29-point advantage at the break. EKU made 20 of its 33 attempts from the field in the first 20 minutes of play and went 5-for-11 from three-point range. Eastern held a 20-9 rebounding advantage and forced the Bobcats into 12 turnovers in the first half of play.

EKU scored the first eight points of the game and never looked back. Rose missed on three of his first five shot attempts, but the junior went 6-for-7 the rest of the half. His three-pointer made it 8-0 just over two minutes into the game. A jumper by Rose at the 16:29 mark left EKU out in front 14-2.

A three-pointer and a pair of lay-ups by Rose contributed seven points to a 10-2 run that allowed Eastern to stretch its advantage to 21 points, 32-11, with 6:51 before halftime.

Five straight points by Daniel, including an old-fashioned three-point play, made it a 28-point advantage in favor of the home team, 46-18, with just over two minutes showing on the clock. A dunk by Dialls with 14 ticks remaining sent the Colonels to the locker room ahead by 29, 50-21.

West Virginia Wesleyan shot 36 percent (9-for-25) from the field and connected on two of its eight attempts from beyond the three-point arch.

Eastern Kentucky scored the first six points of the second half to go in front by 35 points, 56-21, with 17:07 left in the game. West Virginia Wesleyan cut the deficit to 32 twice, but never got any closer.

Rose's lay-up with 5:20 showing on the clock gave the Colonels their largest lead, 37 points.

Eastern went 11-for-22 (50 percent) from the field in the second half and made only three of 10 three-point attempts.

Jared Chafin led the Bobcats with 12 points. Steve Nichols scored 11 and Ryan Hoehner chipped in 10 points and a team-best five robounds.

Because West Virginia Wesleyan is a NCAA Division II school, the Bobcats technically can not begin their regular season for another week. Thus, this game will count as a real game for Eastern Kentucky and an exhibition game for West Virginia Wesleyan.

The Colonels will return to action on Tuesday when they host Thomas More College at McBrayer Arena. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.