Box Score (PDF)

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The No. 3 seed Eastern Kentucky University men's basketball team held on to beat No. 6 seed Austin Peay, 70-67, in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Thursday night at the Ford Center.
 
The Colonels (22-6) advance to play No. 2 Morehead State in the semifinals on Friday night at 10:30 p.m. ET.
 
EKU sealed the win with two huge blocks down the stretch. After Austin Peay (14-13) took a 67-66 lead on a three-pointer by Reginal Gee with 1:40 remaining, freshman Devontae Blanton converted a layup on the other end to give the Colonels a 68-67 advantage.
 
Jordyn Adams attempted a three-pointer on APSU's ensuing possession, but Blanton blocked it with 34 seconds left.
 
Freshman Wendell Green Jr. was promptly fouled, and he converted both free throws to make it a three-point game, 70-67, with 12 seconds showing.
 
On the Govs' final possession, Carols Paez squared up for a potential game-tying three-pointer, but sophomore Michael Moreno swatted it away to seal the victory.
 
Green Jr. finished with a game-high 23 points to go along with six steals and five assists. Junior Tre King powered his way to 17 points and seven rebounds, while junior Cooper Robb connected on three three-pointers and tallied 11 points.
 
Freshman Devontae Blanton came off the bench to record 11 points, four rebounds, one block and one steal.
 
EKU fell behind by nine early, as a jumper by APSU's Terry Taylor made it 16-7 with 14:27 remaining in the first half. The Colonels responded with a 12-2 run, though, and took a 19-18 lead on a fast-break layup by Blanton at the 10:15 mark.
 
The two teams went into halftime tied up at 37-37.
 
Eastern exploded out of the locker room to begin the second half. The Colonels opened the second stanza on a 16-5 run and took their largest lead of the night, 53-42, when King hit a turnaround jumper with 14:03 left in the game.
 
Austin Peay, however, battled back and took its first lead of the second half, 59-58, on a jumper by Taylor with 5:30 on the clock.
 
Taylor paced Austin Peay with 19 points and 16 rebounds.
 
EKU stifled APSU to 3-of-17 shooting from beyond the arc (18 percent).
 
The Govs won the rebounding battle, 43-29, but EKU won the turnover battle, 17-9. The Colonels scored 18 points off those turnovers.