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RICHMOND, Ky. – In the opening round of the 2007 O'Reilly OVC Men's Basketball Tournament, Eastern Kentucky led from start to finish on its way to a 63-45 victory over Morehead State Tuesday night in McBrayer Arena. The Colonels (19-11) now advance to the tournament semifinals for the third time in the last four years while Morehead State finishes the year 12-18 overall.

Junior Jamaal Douglas led three EKU players in double figures with 16 tallies, two shy of his season high, on 70 percent (7-of-10) shooting. Sophomore Mike Rose added 11 first half points while senior Julian Mascoll chipped in with 11 points and a career-high four blocks. Senior Michael Brock hauled in a game-best seven rebounds.

For Morehead State, Cordaryl Ballard recorded team highs in both points (17) and rebounds (six). Quentin Pryor (11 points) was the only other Eagle to reach double figures.

The Colonels took control of the game early, holding Morehead State scoreless for a nine minute stretch and going on a 16-0 run to build a 25-8 cushion. Back-to-back jumpers by Douglas gave EKU its largest advantage of the half, 40-21, before the Colonels settled on a 40-23 halftime lead. Eastern Kentucky shot 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from the floor in the first 20 minutes and forced 10 Eagle turnovers.

Two quick buckets from Ballard at the start of the second half cut the Morehead deficit to 13 points, 40-27. However, freshman Adam Leonard responded with his only three-pointer of the contest and then the Eagles missed their next four shots from the field, ending any thoughts of a comeback.

This was the third time this year the Colonels have held an opponent to less than 50 points. Meanwhile, Morehead State finished just 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) from behind the arc.

Eastern Kentucky improved to 6-2 all-time against the Eagles in the OVC Tournament. The two squads had most recently met in the 1995 first round.

The Colonels will next travel to Nashville, Tenn., for the semifinals of the O'Reilly OVC Men's Basketball Tournament against #3 Tennessee Tech on Friday, March 2. The two teams split the regular season series with each team winning on its home court.