The Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team will kick off a road trip to Nashville with a showdown at OVC leader Belmont on Thursday night.
Tip-off from the Curb Event Center is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.
WHAT TO KNOW
– EKU (10-17, 3-9 OVC) trailed in-state rival Morehead State by only two with 37 seconds remaining on Saturday, but the Eagles held on for a 67-62 victory at McBrayer Arena.
– Freshman Asante Gist poured in a game-high 20 points versus Morehead State on Saturday. He also had four rebounds, four assists and a career-high three steals. Gist leads all freshmen in the OVC in scoring (15.4 points-per-game) and assists (3.8 assists-per-game).
– Sophomore Nick Mayo scored 17 points against Morehead State. He has now scored in double figures in 30 consecutive games dating back to last season and he leads EKU and ranks fifth in the OVC in scoring (17.5 points-per-game).
– Mayo is now 77 points shy of 1,000 for his career with at least four games remaining in his sophomore season. He needs to average 19.3 points-per-game over EKU’s final four games of the regular season to hit the century mark before the halfway point of his career.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
– Belmont (18-5, 12-1 OVC) suffered its OVC loss of the season at Tennessee Tech on Saturday in Cookeville. The 83-70 defeat snapped a 14-game winning streak by the Bruins.
– Senior Evan Bradds paces the first-place Bruins with 21.0 points and 8.6 rebounds-per-game.
– This is the 14th meeting between EKU and Belmont. Belmont leads the all-time series, 8-5.
– In EKU’s last trip to the Curb Event Center on Feb. 6, 2016, the Colonels handed Belmont its first-ever home OVC loss since joining the league in 2012. The Bruins had previously won 35 consecutive home conference games dating back to their days in the ASUN.
UP NEXT
EKU will stay in the Music City to face Tennessee State on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m.
— www.EKUSports.com —
Steve Fohl
Associate Director of EKUSports Communications