FINAL: 101-67 Eastern Kentucky
Richmond, KY – Eastern Kentucky is rolling this season. Today, they picked up their fourth straight win in a 101-67 rout over Thomas More. Today’s win improved the Colonels to a perfect 5-0 on the season when playing in McBrayer Arena.
After having a hugely successful week last week where EKU swept the OVC weekly honors for the first time since 1985 and won three games in three days in the EKU Hoops Classic, the Colonels looked very sluggish and out of rhythm early in the game today. Perhaps they were a bit exhausted after playing so many games this weekend, or maybe the Colonels were a little overconfident against an obviously lesser opponent in Thomas More.
Whatever the reason, it was apparent early that Thomas More was going to take advantage of any weakness that EKU displayed. The Saints quickly took the lead in the game mainly by shooting three’s at an impressive clip, draining 5 three’s in the first ten minutes of the game. EKU lacked the intensity and defensive prowess that attributed to much of their success last week in the first half, allowing Thomas More to find themselves wide open for three point opportunities time after time. Eventually the Colonels came across some success of the defensive end, but failed to convert the forced turnovers into points on the other end, allowing Thomas More to stay in the game. Furthermore, EKU was having trouble converting free throws, making only 6 of the 12 attempted free throws. Simply put, EKU did not look like the dominant force that they were last weekend.
The lone bright spot for Eastern Kentucky in the first half was freshman standout Nick Mayo, who was a deadly force on offense in the first half, accounting for 21 of EKU’s points and shooting a perfect 9/9 from the field. Mayo was recently named OVC Freshman of the Week, and is probably a strong candidate to win it again this week after starting out extremely hot.
In the second half, the Colonels played much more inspired basketball, finally finding their identity and surging ahead of their opponent by more than 30. While Nick Mayo went scoreless in the second half, his teammates stepped up in a big way. Javontae Hawkins added 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists while helping lead his team to a victory. Freshman guard Tay Weaver contributed heavily in the Colonel’s offense as he racked up 9 assists and committing 0 turnovers. As usual, forward Jarelle Reischel was among the most impressive players on the court as he went off in the second half and ended the game with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists and 5 steals. Reischel was merely 1 assist and 1 rebound shy of a triple-double, which has never been done in EKU’s history.
Despite a shaky start, the Colonels went on to defeat Thomas More handily. EKU was dominant in the paint, outscoring Thomas More 56 to 20 in points in the paint. They also shined on the fast break and added 25 points off turnovers after a rough start. EKU played much more efficiently in the second half, moving the ball well and shooting a solid 60% from the field. EKU also won the rebound battle and finished with 30 assists, both were areas of concern early in the season that coach Dan McHale addressed and have since been improved.
In the end, it was a sloppy yet sufficient win for Eastern Kentucky. They now sit on top of the OVC with a 5-1 record, and look to improve against Southern Utah on Saturday.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
-Nick Mayo: 21 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk
-Jarelle Reischel: 16 pts, 9 reb, 9 ast, 5 stl
-Tay Weaver: 3 pts, 9 ast, 0 turnovers
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