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Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky held Eastern Illinois to 18 first half points on its way to a 65-54 victory in the Colonels’ Ohio Valley Conference opener on Thursday at McBrayer Arena.

The Colonels (11-3, 1-0 OVC) took control of the game with a 16-2 run in the first half.  After a lay-up by EIU’s Malcolm Herron made it a one-point game, 11-10, in favor of Eastern Kentucky with 15:26 on the clock Marcus Lewis scored six straight points to get the run started.  His third basket came off an offensive rebound. 

Back-to-back three-pointers by Mike DiNunno and Tarius Johnson capped the run and put the Colonels out in front 27-12 with four minutes remaining in the opening half.  Johnson’s trey gave him 11 points in the first 16 minutes of the game, beating his previous EKU game-high of 10.

Eastern Kentucky took a 17-point lead, 35-18, into the locker room at the break.  The Colonels hit 52 percent of their first half shots and committed only two turnovers.  EIU shot 35 percent.

Eastern Illinois (3-12, 0-2 OVC) never got closer than 13 points until a late-game run.  EKU led by as many as 20 points twice in the second half.  A three-pointer by Orlando Williams with 4:22 to go gave the Colonels their second 20-point margin.  The Panthers answered with a 14-4 run to draw within 10.  Three-pointers by Josh Piper and Herron capped the spurt and closed the gap to 62-52, but only 1:07 remained in the game.

DiNunno and Johnson finished with 13 points for EKU.  Lewis scored 11 off the bench.  Glenn Cosey had eight points, a season-high tying five assists and no turnovers.

Morris Woods had a game-high 15 points for Eastern Illinois.  Piper added 10.

Eastern Kentucky shot 38 percent in the second half while the Panthers connected on 54 percent of their shots.

The Colonels continue their two-game home stand on Saturday against Southern Illinois Edwardsville.  Tip-off at McBrayer Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.

NOTES
The Colonels are ranked 23rd in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25.

Transfer Tarius Johnson broke his EKU career-high with 11 points in the first 16 minutes of the game.  His previous best was 10 in the season-opener against Cincinnati Christian.

Eastern Illinois entered the game third in the OVC in scoring defense (63.5 ppg) and had held six of its first 14 opponents to 60 points or less.

For the first time as a Colonel, Glenn Cosey did not score in double figures.  He finished with eight points.

The Panthers entered the game last in the conference in scoring at 56.3 points per game.

This marks the second straight season that EKU has won its first conference game.