On Thursday, Eastern Kentucky University’s men’s basketball team claimed victory over Florida Gulf Coast University with a final score of 97-76. The game, held at Baptist Health Arena, was a match-up between two teams tied for second in the ASUN Conference.
The Colonels dominated from the start, scoring the first 13 points of the game and never looking back. Michael Moreno put-back his own miss and then nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner to cap the quick start and put EKU ahead 13-0. FGCU missed its first seven shots from the field, and the Eagles first points came at the 15:42 mark on a pair of free throws from Dahmir Bishop. Andre Weir’s jumper 42 seconds later was their first field goal of the game.
Another scoring drought by Florida Gulf Coast, this one lasting more than two minutes, allowed the Colonels to roll off 11 straight. Turner Buttry hit a 3-pointer on three straight possessions. A dunk from Isaiah Cozart finished it off and put EKU on top by 19, 30-11. Eastern Kentucky took another 19-point lead, 40-21, on a 3-pointer from the right wing by Leland Walker.
The Colonels led by 11 at the break, 45-34. In the second half, the Eagles scored first to get within nine, but never got any closer. A 3-pointer from the left corner by Robb stretched the margin to 18, 57-39. After FGCU scored eight straight to get within 10, Eastern Kentucky answered with a 10-0 spurt to extend the lead to 20 for the first time.
Buttry finished with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting from deep. Moreno and Robb had 14 points and six rebounds each. Cozart finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Dardan Kapiti contributed 11 points.
The Colonels held the Eagles to 33 percent shooting from the field and 29 percent (8-for-28) from 3-point range. Eastern Kentucky hit 49 percent of its shots and went 17-for-38 (45 percent) from long range. EKU out-rebounded the visitors 47-41.
Eastern Kentucky University (11-7, 4-1 ASUN) will now host Stetson on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Hatters are the only remaining unbeaten team in the ASUN with a record of 5-0.
