Eastern Kentucky Holds Off Tennessee State

Eastern Kentucky 76

Tennessee State 67

Final from Richmond, Kentucky

Game recap by EKU:

RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky shot 56 percent from the field and 44 from three-point range in a 76-67 victory over Tennessee State on Thursday. The Tigers came into the game sitting in second place in the Ohio Valley Conference East Division with the Colonels a half-game behind.


EKU (16-4, 6-1 OVC) is now in second place in the East, one game behind Belmont (16-4, 7-0 OVC). The undefeated Bruins visit McBrayer Arena on Saturday.

The Colonels scorched the nets to the tune of 67 percent shooting in the first half, including hitting 6-of-10 attempts from three-point range. An 8-1 run, book-ended by treys from Corey Walden and Mike DiNunno, turned an 8-point lead into a 15-point advantage, 33-18, with 2:39 remaining in the opening period. Eastern took a 15-point lead, 39-24, into the locker room at the break.

The Tigers (12-9, 6-2 OVC) began the second half by scoring the first 11 points to get within six. A three-pointer by Jordan Cyphers with 13 minutes left in the game cut the Colonel lead to four, 47-43. However, EKU answered with a 12-3 run to regain control. DiNunno and Timmy Knipp each hit three-pointers. A dunk by Marcus Lewis capped the spurt and had the home team on top by 13, 59-46, with 7:45 showing on the clock.

Six straight free throws by DiNunno, including four as a result of two technical fouls on Tennessee State, gave Eastern its largest lead of 17 points, 67-50, with 5:28 to play. The Tigers never got closer than nine the rest of the way.

DiNunno scored a game-best 24 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He made 4-of-10 from behind the arc on his way to a third straight 24-point performance. The senior also had seven assists.

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