Box Score (PDF) I Coach McHale Postgame Interview I Avare Postgame Interview I Charles Postgame Interview

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Eastern Kentucky University men's basketball team erased a 17-point first-half deficit and stormed back to defeat host Tennessee Tech, 79-66, on Saturday night at the Eblen Center.
 
It is the Colonels' second straight OVC road win, and their first win in Cookeville since February of 2013.
 
Sophomore Nick Mayo led the way for the second straight game, scoring 21 points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out four assists and blocking three shots.
 
Freshman Asante Gist finished with 20 points, five assists and five rebounds, while junior Zach Charles just missed a double-double, pouring in a career-high 19 points to go along with nine rebounds and four blocks.
 
EKU (10-14, 3-6 OVC) went down by 17 when Tennessee Tech's Stephaun Adams drilled a three-pointer to make it 27-10 with 7:05 remaining in the first half.
 
Gist, however, knocked down a triple on the Colonels' ensuing possession to spark a 10-0 EKU run. A layup by Gist ended the spurt and made it 27-20 with 4:51 showing on the clock.
 
After a jumper by Curtis Phillips made it 34-27 in favor of TTU, EKU closed out the half on a 6-0 run as a dunk by Mayo sent the Colonels into the locker room at the break down by only a point, 34-33.
 
Overall, Eastern closed the first half on a 24-7 run. The Colonels shot 4-of-18 to open the half, but hit nine of their last 12 attempts to spark the rally.
 
Mayo carried that momentum out of the locker room and scored the second half's opening bucket, giving EKU its first lead of the game, 35-34.
 
Tennessee Tech (9-15, 5-4 OVC) retook the lead, 40-39, on a Mason Ramsey layup, but the Colonels responded by reeling off 11 of the game's next 12 points as a three-pointer by junior Dillon Avare made it 50-41 in favor of EKU with 12:25 showing. The Colonels never trailed again.
 
Avare sparked the Colonels in the second half. TTU pulled to within four, 53-49, with 8:17 remaining, but Avare continued to knock down long-range shots to fend off any semblance of a Golden Eagle rally. He connected on four three-pointers in a five-minute span in the second half to finish with 12 points off the bench.
 
Easter took its largest lead, 69-53, when Charles sank a pair of foul shots with 4:34 remaining.
 
Aleksa Jugovic paced TTU with 18 points.
 
The Colonels stifled the Golden Eagles to 37 percent (24-of-65) shooting from the field and 22 percent (5-of-23) from three-point range.
 
EKU returns home to host Austin Peay on Wedneday night. Tip-off from McBrayer Arena is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.