EKU overcomes Lipscomb for eighth-straight victory.

Devontae Blanton scored a game high 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Eastern Kentucky to its eighth straight win Tuesday night.

The Colonels never trailed on their way to a 66-57 victory over Atlantic Sun Conference leader Lipscomb University on Tuesday at Baptist Health Arena. The winning streak is the longest for the team since the 2020-21 squad won nine in a row.  The eight straight wins against conference opponents is the longest such streak since winning 12 straight Ohio Valley Conference games across the 1964-65 and 1965-66 seasons.

 The Colonels (17-11, 11-4 ASUN) are now tied with Lipscomb for second place in the Atlantic Sun Conference, one game behind North Alabama with three regular season games remaining.

 The Bisons (19-9, 11-4 ASUN) closed a 17-point second half deficit to nine on a layup from Joe Anderson with 3:52 left in the game.  However, the Colonels answered.  Initially EKU missed two shots on one possession, but got a turnover on the other end.  Montavious Myrick connected on a turnaround jumper.  The Colonels held on defense before Blanton’s jumper from the baseline pushed the margin back to 13 with 1:45 to play.

 Jackson Holt’s two free throws gave the home team a 14-point advantage, 66-52, with 1:25 remaining.

 EKU scored the first eight points of the game, six of which came from Blanton.  Lipscomb’s first points didn’t come until the 15:31 mark when Charlie Williams made a jumper.  The Colonels went in front by 11, 20-19, on a dunk from Myrick.

 The Bisons strung together a 12-4 run to get within three.  Will Pruitt’s 3-pointer capped the run and made it 26-23 with 3:44 left in the first half.  EKU scored five of the final six points of the half and took a 34-27 lead into the locker room at intermission.

 Lipscomb shot just 27% (9-for-33) in the first 20 minutes of play.  The Colonels made 47% (15-for-32) of their shots from the field.

 EKU opened the second half with a 12-2 run.  Mayar Wol’s 3-pointer from the top of the key put his team ahead by 17, 46-29, with 16:16 on the clock.  

 Lipscomb shot 30% in the second half and a season-low 28% for the game.  The Bisons made 5-of-29 from 3-point range (17%).  EKU shot 45% for the game and out-rebounded the visitors by 11, 45-34.

 Holt had 10 points and five rebounds.  Myrick finished with a double-double, contributing 10 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.

 Jacob Ognacevic led Lipscomb with 22 points and seven rebounds.

 The Colonels will close the regular season with three straight road games, starting Thursday at in-state rival Bellarmine.  Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.