Eastern Kentucky University issued the following announcement.
The Eastern Kentucky University men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought road contest at East Carolina, 82-74, on Saturday evening at Williams Arena.
EKU (3-10) trailed by 11, 74-63, following a three-pointer by ECU's JJ Miles with 4:42 remaining in the game; however, the Colonels responded with a 9-1 run over the next three minutes, as a second-chance jumper by sophomore Jomaru Brown suddenly made it a one-possession game, 75-72, with 1:48 showing on the clock.
East Carolina (6-7) outscored Eastern Kentucky, 7-2 over the final 1:15 to pull out the slim victory.
Brown led EKU with 25 points, 17 of which came in the second half. He went 12-of-14 from the free throw line.
Sophomore Tre King recorded his first double-double of the season, scoring a career-high 18 points – all in the first half – and matching his career high with 12 rebounds. He also added three steals.
Senior Ty Taylor fired in 12 points, while freshman Michael Moreno – making his second start of the season – finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
Jayden Gardner paced ECU with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
EKU led the host Pirates for most of the first half. After ECU took a 2-1 lead just over a minute in, the Colonels exploded on an 11-1 run, capped by a dunk from junior Darius Hicks that made it 12-3 at the 15:06 mark of the first half.
A three-point play by King with 12:17 on the clock gave EKU its largest lead of the game, 20-10.
The Pirates clawed back to within one, 30-29, on a pair of foul shots by Gardner at the 4:32 mark of the first half; however, Eastern Kentucky closed the half on a 9-3 run, and a three-pointer by King – his first of the season – sent the Colonels into the locker room with a 39-32 advantage.
ECU grabbed its first lead since early in the game during a 14-0 run in the second half. The run ended with a free throw by Tremont Robinson-White that gave the Pirates a 54-47 lead with 12:33 remaining.
EKU pulled back to within two, 65-63, following a three-pointer by Taylor at the 7:28 point, but that was as close as EKU got.
The Colonels – who rank second in the country in turnovers forced-per-game (21.2) – won the turnover battle on the day, 22-18. However, East Carolina out-rebounded EKU, 44-39, and outshot the Colonels from the field (47% - 36%) and from deep (38% - 30%).
EKU opens Ohio Valley Conference play on Thursday, January 2, by hosting Tennessee Tech. Tip from McBrayer Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Original source can be found here.
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