RICHMOND – FEBRUARY 22, 2020
The Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team was defeated by Belmont, 83-70, on Saturday night at McBrayer Arena.
EKU (14-15, 11-5 OVC) outshot Belmont from both the field (50 percent / 26-of-52) and from deep (52 percent / 13-of-25); however, the Colonels turned the ball over 21 times on the night. The Bruins converted those turnovers into 22 points.
Eastern pulled to within three of Belmont (22-7, 13-3 OVC) when senior Lachlan Anderson buried a three-pointer to make it 23-20 with 11:17 remaining in the first half. The Bruins, however, responded with an 11-3 run and went ahead by 11, 34-23, when Seth Adelsperger converted a layup at the 6:48 mark.
A jumper by sophomore Tre King got EKU back to within seven, 37-30, but Belmont scored the final five points of the half and went into the locker room up by 12, 42-30.
Eastern opened the second half with some energy. Five straight points by freshman Michael Moreno, a jumper by King and a three-pointer by sophomore Jomaru Brown made it a six-point game, 46-40, with 17:26 left in regulation.
Belmont then went on a 20-3 run to take a commanding lead. A dunk by Adam Kunkel made it 66-43 at the 12:08 mark. The Bruins led by double digits the rest of the way.
Anderson paced four Colonels in double figures with 15 points. Senior Ty Taylor and junior JacQuess Hobbs both finished with 11. Moreno tallied a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards. He also dished out a team-best four assists.
Kunkel led all scorers in the game with 22 points.
EKU returns to action at Murray State next Thursday. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.