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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team shot 51.1 percent from the floor in a 76-62 win over Morgan State Tuesday evening in game one of the 2009 Dr Pepper Classic. The Colonels (8-4) will face host Chattanooga in the championship game tomorrow night.

Junior Justin Stommes paced EKU with 20 points and a career-high eight rebounds. This marked the fourth time this season Stommes has reached the 20-point plateau. Sophomore Joshua Jones added a season-high 16 points while senior Josh Taylor finished with 15 points.

Morgan State’s Reggie Holmes, the nation’s second leading scorer, totaled 25 points while netting six three-pointers. Kevin Thompson chipped in with 14 points and nine boards for the Bears (7-5).

Eastern Kentucky never trailed as the Colonels scored 12 of the first 14 points thanks to three-pointers from Jones and Stommes. Morgan State slowly clawed back into the game and closed to within one point on two occasions late in the opening half, but could never take the lead. A Stommes tip-in right before intermission put the Colonels up 31-26 at halftime.

The Colonels opened the second half just like the first, this time with a 15-6 spurt, to stretch their advantage to 46-32 with 16:25 left. Ten straight points by Eastern midway through the half, capped by a Papa Oppong trifecta, gave EKU its largest lead of the game, 66-43.

Holmes singlehandedly brought Morgan State back to within 12 points with 4:39 left, 69-57, following three straight three-pointers, but the Bears would get no closer.

Eastern capitalized at the free throw line against Morgan State by finishing with season highs in both free throws made (23) and free throws attempted (29). Stommes led EKU by going 9-for-10 (90 percent) at the charity stripe.

The 62 points were a season low for Morgan State, last year’s MEAC champion.