After 6th straight win, surging EKU suddenly a game out of first in OVC
Just three weeks ago, the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team looked dead in the water. The Colonels had just been trounced by 31 points at Belmont and fell to 6-12 on the season under second-year head coach A.W. Hamilton.
Turns out, that beatdown by the Bruins was a wake-up call.
On Thursday night, a pair of central Kentucky products led EKU to a 91-84 victory at Eastern Illinois. It was the sixth straight win for the Colonels, their longest such streak since 2007. They’re now 12-12 overall and have surged to within one game of first place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. EKU is 9-2 in league play, one game ahead of Belmont (8-3) and one behind Murray State and Austin Peay (both 10-1).
Michael Moreno had the best game of his freshman season against Eastern Illinois, hitting all five of his shots from the field, including four three-pointers, for a career-high 17 points.
“That first three I hit … once I felt it leave my hands I knew it was good,” Moreno said on the EKU Radio Network postgame show. “I bit my tongue, but I really felt like saying, ‘It’s over.’ Because I felt it go in and I was like, ‘This is gonna be a good night.’”
Moreno also pulled down seven rebounds and hit two free throws to give EKU a 14-point lead with just over a minute to play.
“I thought Michael Moreno was a star tonight,” Hamilton said. “He was just tough, he made shots, got (some) tough rebounds in traffic.”
Moreno, who starred in high school at Scott County, was also instrumental in the victory that ignited the Colonels’ rise. He had 15 points and seven boards at Tennessee State on Jan. 18. Moreno is now averaging 8.0 points and 5.8 rebounds and has started the last 12 games after coming off the bench to begin the season.
Sophomore Tre King matched his career high, leading the Colonels with 22 points against Eastern Illinois. The Lexington native, who played for Lexington Christian Academy before transferring to Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia where he was also coached by Hamilton, hit seven of 10 shots from the field and added seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
The Colonels have proven to be road warriors during their streak; four of the six victories have come away from Richmond. They face three more road games, including a matchup with Morehead State on Feb. 13, before returning home to host Tennessee State on Feb. 20. They’ll get a chance to avenge that Belmont loss when they host the Bruins on Feb. 22.
Next game
Eastern Kentucky at SIU Edwardsville
4:30 p.m. Saturday
