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Eagles Fall To Colonels 76-65

MSU Athletics

Junior Corey Walden and senior Glenn Cosey combined for 37 points on 17-of-17 from the free-throw line, and the Eastern Kentucky men's basketball team registered a 76-65 victory over Morehead State before a crowd of 5,011 on Saturday night (Jan. 11) at MSU’s Johnson Arena.

The Colonels, who snap a two-game losing streak, move to 11-6 overall, 2-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 5-4 on the road. The Eagles, who see their three-game winning streak end, slip to 11-7 overall, 2-1 in league play and 5-2 at home. EKU also improves to 106-75 in the all-time series.

Walden finished with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-12 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, while Cosey added 18 points on 11-of-11 from the foul line. Walden also collected a game-best six steals and four assists, while Cosey was credited with a game-high five assists.

MSU committed 20 turnovers and went more than 10 minutes in the second half without a field goal. The Eagles canned 91 percent (21-of-23) from the free-throw stripe after intermission, but managed just 31 percent (5-of-16) from the floor and 14 percent (1-of-7) from three-point range.

"Tonight's difference was turnovers," Head Coach Sean Woods said. "We committed too many and didn't force enough. Eastern Kentucky's guards played really well, and our guards didn't have their best game. EKU took good care of the ball and we didn't. That's where they won it."

EKU converted 44 percent (24-of-54) of its field-goal tries, including 33 percent (9-of-27) from long distance. The Colonels made 82 percent (19-of-23) from the field-throw stripe, including 92 percent (12-of-13) before the break, and tallied 16 assists while committing just 10 miscues.

The Eagles hit 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field in the first half en route to 43 percent (18-of-41) for the night. The teams combined to knock down 44-of-50 from the free-throw line.

Junior Angelo Warner recorded a team-best 17 points for Morehead State on 8-of-8 from the foul line. Senior Drew Kelly made all seven free-throw attempts on his way to 15 points, while sophomore Brent Arrington added 11 points. Senior Chad Posthumus yanked down a game-best 10 rebounds. Warner now has 17 double-figure scoring performances this season and 46 in his collegiate career. Posthumus now owns 14 double-figure rebounding efforts this year and 20 as an Eagle.

Morehead State managed a 34-22 rebounding advantage. The Eagles have only been outrebounded one time in 18 contests this season. After finishing its last game by making 25-of-26 free-throw attempts, MSU began its tilt against EKU by swishing its first 18 tries from the foul line.

The contest featured nine ties and 11 lead changes, including seven ties and nine lead changes in the first half. Eastern Kentucky used an 8-1 run midway through the second period to build an 11-point cushion. The Colonels pushed their lead to a game-high 13 points with 1:04 left.

"Give Eastern Kentucky credit," Woods said. "They came in here with back-to-back OVC losses and were hungry. We didn't get the ball inside, but their defense had a lot to do with that. We knew they would front us in the post, and we didn't make adjustments to take advantage of our size."

Morehead State continues its three-game home-stand on Thursday (Jan. 16) when Southeast Missouri visits Johnson Arena at 7 p.m. The Eagles will then entertain UT Martin on Saturday (Jan. 18) at 2 p.m. MSU had previously started conference play 2-0 for the third time in the past four seasons.

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