Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Turner Buttry scored 22 points but a cold shooting night for Eastern Kentucky University led to an 80-74 loss at Bellarmine on Thursday in Louisville, Kentucky.
 
The loss snapped the Colonels' 8-game winning streak.
 
EKU shot 36% from the field for the game and made just 30% of its 3-point attempts.  Bellarmine shot 54% from the field. 
 
Buttry was 7-for-15 from the field and 4-for-10 from deep.  Montavious Myrick finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.
 
EKU (17-12, 11-5 ASUN) closed a 12-point second half deficit to five with a run of seven unanswered.  A 3-pointer from Mayar Wol capped it and closed the gap to 47-42 with 14:45 left in the game.
 
The Knights answered with an 8-2 run to regain control.  Tyler Doyle's layup pushed the margin back to 11, 55-44, with 11:47 remaining.  The lead ballooned to 14, 70-54, on a 3-pointer from Myles Watkins.
 
The Colonels got within five, 75-70, on Buttry's 3-pointer from the left wing and a layup from Tyler Andrews with 1:34 on the clock.  Two free throws from Andrews at the 1:07 mark made it a 4-point game, 76-72, but EKU never got any closer.
 
Billy Smith led all players with 23 points for Bellarmine.
 
The Colonels made just 1-of-8 from the field to start, and the Knights torched the nets in the first half to the tune of 54%.  Back-to-back baskets by Wol turned a 6-2 deficit into a 7-6 lead for EKU.  A layup from Buttry and a 3-pointer by Jackson Holt from the right wing staked the visitors to a 22-20 lead with 4:41 remaining in the first half.
 
From that point, Bellarmine closed the first half on a 17-6 run.  A 3-pointer from Smith with 39 seconds left in the opening period sent the home team to the locker room in front by nine, 37-28.
 
EKU shot 34% in the first half (11-for-32).
 
The Knights (5-24, 2-14 ASUN) scored the first three points of the second half to go on top by 12, 40-28.  A layup from Watkins with 16:50 left handed Bellarmine another 12-point lead, 47-35.
 
EKU's regular season-ending 3-game road stretch will continue on Monday at Jacksonville.  Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.