EKU rallies past Radford
Colonels knock off Radford 67-65 in a hard fought battle
RICHMOND, Ky. – (EKU Sports) – EKU built a late eight-point lead against Radford, then held off the Highlanders in the final minute to secure a 67-65 victory on Saturday afternoon at Baptist Health Arena.
Radford netted the game’s first four points before Michael Moreno put the Colonels on the board with his first three-pointer of the afternoon. The Highlanders built a five-point lead at the 12:46 mark of the first half, but EKU answered with a layup from Isaiah Cozart and a three from Turner Buttry to knot the score at 17-17 before the lead switched hands eight times over the ensuing eight minutes.
Tayshawn Comer’s steal and dunk put the Colonels up 24-23 with 6:21 left in the half, but the Highlanders scored 10 of the half’s final 14 points and held EKU without a field goal until a Moreno three with 31 seconds to go. Radford pushed the lead to four with a layup at the buzzer to take a 35-31 advantage into the locker room.
Trailing by four with 10:10 remaining in the second half, EKU used a pair of Leland Walker free throws and a Moreno layup to pull even with 9:25 to go. Cooper Robb’s and-one with 6:16 to play gave the Colonels their first lead since the 2:52 mark of the first half and sparked an 11-1 EKU run. Walker followed Robb’s free throw with seven consecutive points as the Colonels pushed their lead to 64-56 with 3:12 remaining.
The Highlanders trimmed EKU’s lead to four with 1:39 to play, but a Devontae Blanton putback with 1:09 to go gave the Colonels a 66-60 advantage. A layup and a trio of free throws from Radford made the score 66-65 with 22 seconds left to play. Following a foul, Tayshawn Comer hit one of two free throws to put EKU up by two with 15 seconds remaining and Radford’s baseline jumper at the buzzer fell short.
Walker scored a team-high 13 points, all in the second half, while Cozart posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Moreno finished with 10 points and Blanton grabbed 10 rebounds while adding seven points.
Nine different Colonels scored in the game as EKU shot 23-of-62 (37.1 percent) from the floor and 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from long range. The Colonels were 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) from the free-throw line and forced the Highlanders into 17 turnovers.
EKU closes out non-conference play on Thursday afternoon when the Colonels host UNC Greensboro at 2:00 p.m.
