Click here for official box score!

RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team shot just 32 percent from the field and fell to Morehead State, 69-53, Saturday night in front of 5,600 fans in McBrayer Arena. The loss snapped the Colonels’ 19 game home court winning streak.

Trailing 54-37 with just under nine minutes to play, the Colonels (14-7, 6-3 OVC) ran off 10 straight points over the next four minutes, capped by a three-point play by senior Josh Taylor, to pull within seven points with 5:25 showing on the clock, 54-47.

MSU’s Kenneth Faried scored on the ensuing possession, though, to spark an 8-2 run for the Eagles (14-6, 8-1 OVC), and EKU would get no closer than seven the rest of the way. Morehead State has now won 10 straight games overall.

Senior Papa Oppong led EKU with 14 points while sophomore Joshua Jones contributed with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range. The 53 points scored by Eastern Kentucky were the fewest of the year for the Colonels.

The Colonels could not contain Faried inside, as the junior went for a game-high 20 points and 16 rebounds on the way to his 14th double-double. Maze Stallworth and Demonte Harper poured in 15 and 13 points, respectively.

Two free throws by Harper gave MSU an early 16-5 lead; however, a baseline layup by junior Justin Stommes capped a 6-0 Colonel run and brought EKU to within five, 16-11, with 9:34 remaining in the half.

The Eagles rallied again as Faried slammed home an alley-oop dunk and Stallworth knocked down a jumper in the lane to give Morehead State a 26-14 advantage.

With less than two minutes remaining in the half, Stommes threw down a thunderous fast break dunk and Jones connected on an open three from the wing to send EKU into halftime down by only four, 28-24.

A layup by freshman Willie Cruz early in the second half cut the deficit to one, 30-29, before MSU went on a run to take a commanding lead. When Stallworth drilled a three from the corner and Brandon Shingles stole the ensuing inbounds and laid it in, the Eagles led 47-35 with a little more than 10 minutes left.

Two minutes later, another Stallworth trifecta gave Morehead State its largest lead of the game at 54-37.

EKU returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 28, when the Colonels travel to Clarksville, Tenn., to play Austin Peay at 8:30 p.m.