Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky came up short against first-place Liberty, 91-84, on Saturday night at McBrayer Arena.
 
The Colonels started the game by making four 3-pointers.  Cooper Robb hit the first two, Michael Moreno nailed one and Russhard Cruickshank hit from the left wing to make it 12-10 in favor of the home team.  A put-back basket by Curt Lewis gave EKU a 14-13 advantage.
 
Liberty started hot too.  The Flames made 11 of their first 15 from the field and answered Lewis' basket with an 18-5 run.  A triple from Darius McGhee capped the spurt and gave the visitors a 31-19 lead.
 
Keegan McDowell's 3-pointer with 13 seconds to play in the opening half sent Liberty to the locker room in front 49-30.  The Flames shot 62 percent (18-of-29) from the field in the first half, including 56 percent (10-of-18) from deep.
 
The Colonels opened the second half on an 11-2 run to cut the Flames lead to 10, 51-41, after Tariq Balogun split a pair of free throws with 17:05 left in regulation.
 
Following an Isiah Warfield three-pointer that pushed the lead back to 13, Lewis knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the deficit to seven, 54-47, with 15:57 remaining in the game.

However, Eastern Kentucky suffered a scoring drought that lasted 4:11 and Liberty scored 11 unanswered.  Kyle Rode's two free throws with 11:53 to play pushed the Flames out in front by 18, 65-47.
 
The Colonels had one more push in them.  Jomaru Brown went on a personal 7-0 run to cut the Liberty lead to seven, 82-75, with 2:09 remaining in regulation.  EKU never got any closer as the two teams traded baskets down the stretch.
 
Brown had a game-high 24 points and four rebounds for the Colonels (11-13, 3-7 ASUN). Lewis chipped in 21 points with Moreno (16) and Robb (12) each reaching double digits as well.  Moreno added 10 rebounds.
 
McGhee had a team-best 21 points and six assists for Liberty (17-7, 8-1 ASUN). Four other Flames posted double figures.
 
The Colonels shot 42 percent from the field on the game, including 55 percent in the second half.  Liberty made 59 percent of its shots, including 56 percent from deep (14-for-25).
 
EKU takes to the road to play at Jacksonville University on Wednesday at 7 p.m.