A dominant second-half surge helped Eastern Kentucky get back in the win column Wednesday night. The Colonels opened the half on a 12-2 run, flipping a one-point deficit into a double-digit lead and never looking back in a 68–59 road win over Eastern Illinois.
EKU (3–7) trailed by one at the break, but Juan Cranford Jr. jumpstarted the rally with a pair of free throws to reclaim the lead. After the Panthers briefly went back in front, the Colonels rattled off 10 straight points. Austin Ball cleaned up a miss with a putback, then buried a trey from the right wing. Montavious Myrick followed with a midrange jumper, and Jackson Holt capped the burst with a corner three that stretched the margin to 43–34 with just over 14 minutes left.
Eastern Illinois (2–7) trimmed the deficit to six midway through the half, but the Colonels answered again. A quick 7–0 spurt, highlighted by a Myrick layup, pushed the advantage to 52–39. When Jayden Harris knocked down a long jumper from the corner moments later, EKU led by as many as 15.
The Panthers made one last push down the stretch. A 15–5 run, capped by a Zion Fruster layup, made it 62–57 with four minutes left. But that’s as close as EIU would get. Yvens Paul finished a reverse layup to push the margin back to seven, and Cranford and Turner Buttry iced the game at the line, knocking down four straight free throws in the final minute before Preston Turner’s dunk sealed the nine-point victory.
Cranford and Buttry led EKU with 14 points apiece. Paul added 10 points and seven boards, while Myrick filled the stat sheet with six points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals. The Colonels shot 42 percent from the field but struggled from three-point range, going just 8-for-32. EKU won the glass 37–30 and held EIU to 33 percent shooting overall.
Fruster finished with a game-high 16 points for the Panthers, who relied on hot first-half shooting to stay competitive. EIU hit 4-of-9 from deep in the opening 20 minutes, well above its season average of 28 percent from beyond the arc, and took a 32–31 halftime lead after Andre Washington’s buzzer-beating three.
EKU led by as many as seven early, fueled by a Harris putback and a Cranford jumper at the shot clock horn that made it 19–12 midway through the first. Despite launching 18 threes in the half, the Colonels connected on just five.
Next up, Eastern Kentucky returns home for a major test, hosting undefeated and No. 4-ranked mid-major Miami (Ohio) on Saturday at Baptist Health Arena. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. ET.
