Eastern Kentucky beats Eastern Illinois 86-74

RICHMOND, Ky. (AP) — Joshua Jones scored 27 points and Jaron Jones added 23 to lead Eastern Kentucky over Eastern Illinois 86-74 on Saturday night.

Joshua Jones scored 15 and Jaron Jones had 13 in the second half, as the Colonels (16-15, 7-9 Ohio Valley Conference) clinched the final spot in the OVC Tournament.

The Colonels led 42-31 at halftime, behind a run sparked by the Jones’s

Eastern Kentucky trailed 26-25 with 7:03 to go in the first half, before scoring 10 straight. D’Mitri Riggs made a layup to put the Colonels up 35-26 with 4:97 left. Joshua Jones and Jaron Jones scored four points each during the spurt.

Riggs finished with 16 points for the Colonels, who outscored Eastern Illinois 40-26 in the paint.

Eastern Kentucky shot 55.2 percent from the field (32 of 58) to snap a four-game OVC skid.

The Panthers (12-17, 5-11) were led by Jeremy Granger with 26 points.