DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Isaiah Cozart and Devontae Blanton were chosen to the 2023 Discount Tire College Basketball Invitational (CBI) All-Tournament Team, the organization announced last night after the championship game featuring the No. 8 seed Colonels and No. 3 seed Charlotte.
 
Cozart recorded a double-double in each of the first three games of the CBI.  The 6-foot-7 junior forward averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks over four games.  He shot 64 percent (29-for-45) from the field.
 
The Richmond, Kentucky native opened the tournament with what was then a career-high 20 points and a career-best 17 rebounds in a win over Cleveland State.  He went 8-for-16 from the field and also blocked five shots.  A day later, Cozart scored 11 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked three shots in an upset victory of No. 1 seed Indiana State.  Cozart hit two free throws with 1.1 seconds left in double overtime to beat Southern Utah and send the Colonels to the championship game.  He finished with a new career-high 31 points on 14-of-17 shooting.  Cozart also grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked four shots against SUU.  He closed out the CBI with 10 points and four rebounds in the title game against No. 3 seed Charlotte.
 
Blanton led the team in scoring over the four-game tournament, averaging 19.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game.  The 6-foot-6 wing from Macedonia, Ohio, hit on 53 percent of his attempts from the field, went 4-for-9 from long range and knocked in 10-of-11 at the free throw line (91 percent).
 
The Macedonia, Ohio native scored 22 points in the first round victory over Cleveland State.  Against No. 1 Indiana State, Blanton finished with a career-high 32 points, eight rebounds and four assists.  He had 24 points and four steals in the semifinal double-overtime win against Southern Utah.  Blanton was limited to 15 minutes in the championship game due to an injury.
 
The Colonels finished the season 23-14, the third most wins in program history.  This year's team was the first in 78 years to win three games in a national postseason tournament.
 
EKU won its first three games at the Discount Tire CBI in overtime, beating No. 9 seed Cleveland State (91-75), No. 1 Indiana State (89-88) and then No. 4 Southern Utah (108-106) in two overtimes.  The Colonels trailed by 20 midway through the second half of the championship game against No. 3 seed Charlotte but staged yet another comeback before falling 71-68.  EKU got within one late and had two attempts in the closing seconds to send the game to overtime.
 
The Colonels, who ended the regular season with a NCAA NET Ranking of 165, posted CBI wins over the No. 93rd ranked team (Indiana State), the No. 113th ranked team (Southern Utah) and No. 171 (Cleveland State).  Those wins are in addition to regular season victories over No. 44 Liberty, No. 114 UNC Greensboro, No. 115 Kennesaw State and No. 140 UNC Asheville.