MOREHEAD, Ky. – Thanks to shooting 68.8 percent from the field in the second half, the Eastern Kentucky University men's basketball team was able to build a 14-point cushion before fighting off a late Morehead State rally to earn a 69-61 victory Thursday night in Johnson Arena. With the win, the Colonels (12-9, 7-6 OVC) completed the season sweep over the Eagles (10-12, 6-8).

Four EKU players finished in double figures, led by sophomore Mike Rose's 20 points, his seventh 20-point performance of the year. Junior Darnell Dialls equaled his season high with 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half, on 85.7 percent (6-of-7) shooting. Meanwhile, senior Julian Mascoll and freshman Adam Leonard each chipped in with 12 tallies.

Morehead State netted a season-high 14 three-pointers with Quentin Pryor going 6-of-10 (60 percent) from behind the arc for 18 points. Maze Stallworth added 10 points and a game-best six rebounds.

Eastern opened the contest by hitting its first five shots from the field, four of which were three-point buckets, helping the visitors establish a 14-6 lead. The Colonels stretched their advantage to 10, 21-11, before settling on a five-point edge at intermission, 24-19.

EKU maintained the lead throughout the early stages of the second half until a 7-0 Morehead spurt put the Eagles ahead for just the second time in the game, 40-38. After a four-and-a-half minute scoring drought, freshman Josh Taylor hit perhaps the biggest shot of the game, a long-range three-pointer from the left wing, to allow the Colonels to jump back in front, 41-40.

The Colonels then forced a turnover on Morehead State's next possession and converted an easy lay-up to stretch the cushion back to three points. A Dialls dunk a minute later gave Eastern some more breathing room at 45-40. Neither team could find the range over the next two minutes before Eagle foul trouble put the Colonels in the bonus with 5:45 remaining.

Eastern Kentucky was able to convert six consecutive free throws and Rose hit a key three-pointer with 2:29 left to make the score, 56-42. However, Morehead State would not go away and after making five three-pointers in the final two minutes, the Eagles found themselves trailing by just four, 65-61, with :21 on the clock. The Colonels held off Morehead by netting their final four free throws of the contest.

The win allowed Eastern to break a four-game road losing skid and move to 3-3 in OVC road games. Also, the Colonels improved to 6-0 this season when shooting better than 50 percent from the field (54.1).

Eastern is right back in action on Saturday, Feb. 3, with a home tilt against Tennessee Tech. Game time is slated for 8 p.m.