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RICHMOND, Ky. – Junior Mike DiNunno and freshman Eric Stutz scored 14 points apiece to lead four Colonels in double figures as the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team defeated Division II foe Urbana, 70-59, Wednesday night in McBrayer Arena. This was the Colonels’ only exhibition game of the preseason.

DiNunno directed the team from the point guard position for most of the night and flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 14 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Stutz scored 10 of his 14 points in a strong first-half performance.

Senior Jaron Jones (12 points) and freshman Timmy Knipp (10 points) also contributed in the winning effort.

The Colonel defense stifled Urbana all night, holding the Blue Knights to just 37.3 percent (22-of-59) shooting from the field. Sharif Muhammed led Urbana with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Ramel Mitchell chipped in with 12 points.

A pair of freshmen, Stutz and Knipp, scored EKU’s first 12 points of the game, as back-to-back three-pointers by Knipp gave the Colonels an early 12-5 lead at the first media timeout. Free throws by Jaron Jones, a jumper by senior Joshua Jones and a layup by DiNunno extended EKU’s lead to 18-5 in just a two-minute span.

A three-pointer by Josh Brown brought Urbana to within six, 20-14, with 7:29 remaining in the first half, but a late run by EKU, capped by a DiNunno jumper with less than two minutes on the clock, sent the Colonels into the locker room at halftime up by 14, 37-23.

The Blue Knights stormed out of halftime, though, as a Muhammed three-point play cut EKU’s lead to five, 47-42, with 12:17 on the clock. A pair of free throws by sophomore Jeff Johnson gave the Colonels an 11-point lead later in the half, 58-47, but Urbana rallied again, pulling back within five, 62-57, on a Muhammed tip-in by with just over three minutes to play in the game.

EKU eventually wore down Urbana from the charity stripe as the Colonels connected on 6-of-7 free throw attempts down the stretch. DiNunno then found Johnson under the basket for a layup with 23 ticks on the clock that sealed the win.

The Colonels open the regular season this Monday, Nov. 7 at Mississippi State. The game, which is part of the 2K Sports Classic, is set to begin at 8 p.m. ET.