Colonels fall to Central Arkansas in conference opener

Home court not enough in close loss

RICHMOND, Ky. (EKU Athletics) – The EKU men’s basketball team suffered a 79-72 loss Tuesday night to Central Arkansas in its first ASUN contest in McBrayer Arena.

Eastern Kentucky fired 21 more shots than UCA, but shot just 35.9 percent (28-of-78) from the floor. The Bears finished the night 29-of-57 (50.9 percent), including 4-of-16 from beyond the arc. EKU shot 8-of-33 from long range. Central Arkansas held a 44-37 advantage on the glass.

The Colonels (8-7, 0-1 ASUN) held a 31-30 lead with 3:19 to play in the first half before UCA (4-10, 1-0 ASUN) closed on an 11-2 run to go up 41-33 at halftime.

EKU scored 13 of the first 18 points in the second half, capped by back-to-back three-pointers from Cooper Robb to tie the score at 46-46 with 16:23 remaining in the contest. Devontae Blanton’s and-one put the Colonels up 51-46 at the 14:02 mark and EKU stretched the lead to seven on Michael Moreno’s trey with 10:54 to go. However, Eastern would manage just one basket over the ensuing five minutes as the Bears embarked on a 14-2 run to take a 67-62 lead at the 5:46 mark. The Colonels pulled within one on a bucket from Blanton with 2:11 left to play

Robb led EKU with 18 points, while Blanton racked up 15 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. Jomaru Brown finished with 15 points on the night. Michael Wardy chipped in seven points and added three blocks and three steals.

Eastern Kentucky takes its first road trip of conference play on Saturday night when the Colonels visit Bellarmine for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.