Box Score

ESTERO, Fla. – A strong start defensively and scorching first half shooting helped Eastern Kentucky University beat Southern Illinois, 77-72, on Tuesday at the Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena in Florida.
 
The Colonels (4-2) jumped out in front quick as SIU started as cold as the ice under the court at Hertz Arena.  A steal and layup from George Kimble III handed EKU a 10-2 lead.  Back-to-back 3-pointers from Kimble and Mayar Wol capped a 21-4 start to the game.
 
Southern Illinois started 0-for-6 from the field and turned the ball over nine times in the first eight and a half minutes.  The Salukis' first shot from the floor didn't fall until the 11:34 mark when a jumper from Damien May Jr. made it 21-6.  SIU started 1-for-12 from the field.
 
A 3-pointer from the left wing and a layup from Devontae Blanton pushed the margin to 21, 36-15.  EKU ended the first half on an 11-3 run.  Blanton scored six of the 11 including the first four on a tip-in and a spinning jumper in the lane.  Jackson Holt followed with a 3-pointer and a jumper.  Blanton's layup with three seconds to go before intermission sent his squad to the locker room in front by 26, 48-22.
 
The Colonels shot 56 percent in the first half, including 7-for-16 from deep (44 percent).  SIU hit just 6-of-24 (25 percent) in the first 20 minutes.  The Salukis' only field goal in the final 3:26 was a 3-pointer from Drew Steffe with 58 seconds on the clock.
 
The teams experienced a bit of role reversal to start the second period.  EKU made just one of its first 11 attempts as Southern Illinois started the second on a 16-3 run.  An old-fashioned 3-point play from Kennard Davis Jr. drew the Salukis to within 13, 51-38, with 13:59 left in the game.
 
The Colonels maintained a double-digit lead until the final three minutes.  After a 3-pointer from the left wing from Jordan Crawford with 5:08 to go pushed EKU in front by 17, 68-51, SIU rolled off 11 unanswered.  A layup from Davis with 2:52 on the clock got Southern Illinois to within eight, 68-60, closing the gap to single digits for the first time since the Colonels led 12-4.
 
Davis got it down to seven, 72-65, on another basket and free throw with 1:46 to go.  Kimble's free throw with 23 seconds left pushed EKU ahead by nine, 77-68, before Southern Illinois scored the final four points.
 
Blanton had 17 points, six rebounds and two assists to lead EKU.  Kimble finished with 13 points, five assists and five steals.  Senior Montavious Myrick came off the bench to score nine and grab a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
Twenty-five of Ali Dibba's game-high 26 points for SIU came in the second half.  Davis added 21 points and seven rebounds.
 
The Colonels shot 24 percent from the field in the second half (7-for-29), but went 14-for-18 at the free throw line (78 percent).  The Salukis hit on 59 percent of their shots on the second half, but were just 3-for-11 (27 percent) from behind the arc in the period and 6-for-19 (32 percent) for the game.
 
EKU committed just 10 turnovers while using 12 steals to turn SIU over 17 times.
 
The Colonels will conclude play at the Gulf Coast Showcase on Wednesday against Louisiana Tech, a team ranked fifth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25.  The game will begin at 12 p.m. ET and air live on FloCollge.  The live radio broadcast of the game is available in the Richmond area on WCYO 100.7 FM, or worldwide on EKUSports.com.