A furious second-half rally fell just short Sunday, as Eastern Kentucky dropped an 85-75 decision to Northern Kentucky in Richmond.
The Norse held a 39-27 edge at the break and led by as many as 14 in the second half before EKU mounted its charge. The Colonels ripped off a 16-3 surge, capped by back-to-back buckets from John Ukomadu to slice the margin to 54-53 with 10 minutes remaining.
NKU responded with an 8-0 spurt of its own to rebuild a nine-point cushion. Undaunted, the home team kept battling – three-point bombs from Turner Buttry made it a one-possession game on two occasions.
But the Norse had the counterpunch down the stretch, putting together a 10-2 burst to finally put EKU away. A LJ Wells layup at the 4-minute mark made it 75-65, icing Northern Kentucky’s seventh win.
Isaiah Cozart was a force for the Colonels, piling up 24 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks. Ukomadu added a gritty 15 point, 7 rebound effort in the loss.
The Norse shot a blistering 52 percent from the floor and 50 percent from deep, draining eight threes. EKU connected on just 25 percent from long range, undermining a 39 percent overall effort.
The Colonels hit the road for their next three contests, starting Thursday night at Troy. Though Sunday’s comeback came up short, the fight shown could pay dividends when OVC play tips in January.