Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – Even though they trailed by 18 points with 7:37 left, the Colonels never backed down and nearly fought their way back to a win over East Tennessee Tuesday night. However, the visiting Buccaneers held on for a 63-60 victory.
 
Eastern Kentucky (5-4) actually had three chances to tie or take the lead in the final minute of action. Trailing by two, 62-60, sophomore Jaylen Babb-Harrison missed a three-pointer from the right wing with 45 seconds remaining.
 
After ETSU (6-2) missed a lay-up with 18 seconds showing on the clock, Eastern set up for another chance to even the score. This time, the Bucs' zone defense forced a Colonel turnover with five ticks left. ETSU's Devin Harris only made 1-of-2 free throws on the ensuing possession allowing EKU one final opportunity to extend the game.
 
With 2.0 seconds to work with on the clock, senior Timmy Knipp caught the inbounds pass near midcourt and found fellow senior Corey Walden on the right wing. Walden had to pump fake before getting off a shot and by that time the final horn had sounded.
 
Senior Eric Stutz led the Colonels with 13 points and eight rebounds. Walden added 13 points and four steals.
 
For ETSU, Rashawn Rembert tallied a game-high 30 points thanks to making a personal-high nine three-pointers. Lambert hit 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) three-point attempts in the first half as the Bucs took a 33-26 lead into intermission.
 
In the second half, three consecutive three-pointers by ETSU helped the visitors extend its lead to 57-41. A Rembert fast-break lay-up with 7:37 left pushed the advantage to 59-41.
 
From there, EKU rattled off 11 straight points, keyed by two Denzel Richardson three-pointers and another by Walden, to cut the deficit to seven points, 59-52, with 4:39 remaining.
 
The Buccaneers were able to stretch the lead back to 10 one more time, but the Colonels rolled off eight in a row, capped by a Walden trifecta, to close the gap to two, 62-60, with 1:39 still to play.
 
East Tennessee tied a school record with 15 three-pointers.
 
The Colonels will leave later this week for a two-game road trip to South Florida.  EKU plays at No. 18 Miami on Friday at 7 p.m.  The trip ends with a game at Florida Atlantic on Monday in Boca Raton.
 
NOTES
The game featured a match-up of two finalists for the Lou Henson Award, which is presented annually to the Division I "Mid-Major" Player of the Year.  ETSU's Rashawn Rembert finished with nine three-pointers and 30 points.  EKU's Corey Walden had 13 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists.
 
EKU was 5-0 this season when holding opponents under 70 points.  The Colonels were 16-0 last season when their opponents scored less than 70.
 
The teams entered the game averaging 29 three-point attempts combined per game.  ETSU began the day fourth in the nation with 11.9 made three-pointers per game while EKU stood ninth with 9.9 per game.  The Buccaneers finished 15-of-34 (44.1 percent) while the Colonels went 10-for-31 (32.3 percent).
 
East Tennessee came into the game shooting 41 percent from three-point range this season.  The Buccaneers shot 44.1 percent on Tuesday night.  The Colonels had held their previous two opponents to a combined 28 percent (9-for-32) shooting from behind the arc.
 
Eastern Kentucky entered the game second in the nation with an average of 12.3 steals per game and second in turnover margin (+11.9).  EKU finished with 11 steals and +6 in turnover margin (14-20).  ETSU had turned the ball over only 10.4 times per game before Tuesday's contest.  The Buccaneers' opponents had averaged just 4.1 steals per game.
 
Corey Walden passed Glenn Cosey and Mike Smith on EKU's all-time scoring list, moving to 26th with 1,079 career points at Eastern Kentucky.
 
Eric Stutz is 57 points away from becoming the 13th player in Eastern Kentucky to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds.
 
Corey Walden now needs 58 more steals to break the EKU career record of 221.
 
EKU still leads the all-time series 28-22.