The Eastern Kentucky Colonels had a huge win at Miami (FL) but then lost at Florida Atlantic.
Take a look at both recaps:
COLONELS BEAT NO. 18 MIAMI BY 28
MIAMI, Fla. – Eastern Kentucky University’s men’s basketball team beat No. 18 University of Miami by 28 points, 72-44, on Friday night. The Colonels never trailed on their way to what is believed to be EKU’s first victory ever over a top-25 ranked team.
Playing in his home state, senior Corey Walden led Eastern (6-4) with a game-high 18 points. The Daytona Beach native also had five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Timmy Knipp added 17 points. Eric Stutz scored 13, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists.
Isaac McGlone came off the bench to score 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from three-point range.
EKU led by two at halftime but began the second stanza with a 24-4 run. McGlone hit two of his treys during the run, his second made it 43-27. Miami (9-2) answered with two free throws at the other end, but Knipp nailed two three-pointers from the left corner on two straight possessions to essentially put the game away. A lay-up by Jaylen Babb-Harrison finished off the run and put the Colonels in front by 22, 51-29, with 8:49 left in the game.
The Hurricanes began the second half 1-of-13 from the field. The Colonels shot 61 percent in the final 20 minutes of the game. Eastern scored more points in the second half (45) than Miami scored in the game (44).
Walden made a pair of long three-pointers in the final five minutes to squelch any thought of a Hurricane comeback.
Eastern scored the first five points of the game. The Colonels led by eight twice. First on a put-back of his own miss by Stutz followed by a reverse lay-up from Walden. A basket by Knipp with 5:04 left in the opening stanza made it 23-15.
The Hurricanes answered with a 10-2 run to tie the game for the only time. Ja’Quan Newton’s two free throws knotted it 25-25 with 2:01 to go. A lay-up by Stutz capped the first half scoring, 27-25, with 1:06 on the clock.
Eastern shot 51 percent from the field for the game, including 54 percent from three-point range (14-for-26). Miami made just 29 percent of its shots, finishing 12-of-41. The Colonels out-rebounded the bigger Hurricanes by 11, 37-26, and committed five fewer turnovers.
Sheldon McClellan, who entered the game averaging 16 points on 58 percent shooting for the season, led Miami with 14 points.
COLONELS FALL AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC
BOCA RATON, Fla. – In a game that saw 13 lead changes and 12 ties, the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team came up short in a 69-66 loss at Florida Atlantic University on Monday.
With the game tied for the final time, 60-60, FAU’s Javier Lacunza hit a three-pointer from the corner with four seconds left on the shot clock to give his team the lead for good. The Owls (6-4) went up by six, 68-62, on a three-pointer by Jackson Trapp with 27 seconds left in the game.
EKU (6-5) scored four straight on a dunk by Ja’Mill Powell and a lay-up by Corey Walden to get within two. Trapp missed one of two free throws with four seconds remaining leaving the Colonels with a chance to tie, but Walden’s shot from one step inside half court missed.
Walden led Eastern with 15 points to go along with four steals and three rebounds. Eric Stutz added 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Trapp hit six 3-pointers and had a game-high 19 points. Kelvin Penn finished with eight points and 14 rebounds. Florida Atlantic hit 11-of-21 from three-point range (52.4 percent) and out-rebounded the Colonels by 16.
The teams battled to a 30-30 tie in the first half after exchanging runs. EKU scored the first five points and led 7-2 early. FAU went on an 18-5 run to take a 20-12 advantage. The Colonels answered with a 12-2 run to go on top by two, 24-22. Denzel Richardson made to lay-ups, the second coming with one second left in the first half, to send the Colonels to the locker room tied.
Six straight by Eastern with about 12 minutes left in the game gave the visitors a five-point margin, their largest of the second half. However, Florida Atlantic answered with six straight of its own to erase the lead and go up by one, 46-45, with 10:16 left to play.
Eastern will be back in game action on Dec. 30 at Coppin State. Tip-off in Baltimore is scheduled for 1 p.m.
