Box Score (PDF)

RICHMOND, Ky. – Freshman guard Asante Gist scored a game-high 20 points, but it was not enough, as the Eastern Kentucky University men's basketball team fell to visiting Eastern Illinois, 74-60, on Saturday afternoon at McBrayer Arena.
 
Gist – who dropped a career-high 25 points two days earlier against SIUE – shot 8-of-15 from the field and 4-of-7 from behind the arc. He also dished out two assists and recorded a steal.
 
EKU (8-10, 1-2 OVC) took a 27-26 lead when freshman forward Marlon Adams converted a layup with 2:03 remaining in the first half; however, the Colonels then went scoreless for nearly eight minutes of game time as EIU (9-7, 1-2 OVC) rattled off a 15-0 run that spanned both halves and ended when Muusa Dama slammed home a dunk to make it 41-27 with 14:45 remaining in the game.
 
Despite the dry spell, Eastern Kentucky responded with a 9-2 run and pulled to within seven, 45-38, when Gist got a layup to go with 11:24 on the clock. That was as close as the Colonels would come, though. The Panthers responded by scoring nine straight to put the game away.
 
Sophomore forward Nick Mayo finished with 17 points and five assists. Freshman forward DeAndre Dishman tallied only six points, but contributed in a big way on the defensive end, pulling down a team-high nine rebounds, grabbing two steals and a blocking a shot.
 
The EKU offense scored 26 points in the paint, compared to just 12 for Eastern Illinois.
 
The Colonel defense held EIU to just 37 percent shooting from the field, the Panthers' sixth worst shooting performance of the year. They also forced the Panthers into 11 turnovers, five of them off steals.
 
Demetrius McReynolds led the way for Eastern Illinois with 17 points and six assists. Dama pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for the Panthers.
 
The Colonels return to action on Thursday, January 12, as they take on Tennessee State at McBrayer Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.