Coach Hamilton has his team starting out with a “boom.” Hamilton has set the standard at EKU with the motto “the most exciting 40 minutes in sports,” and his team is living up to it in these early cupcake games. Offensively and defensively the Colonels play fast and fun.
First Half
EKU had one game already under their belt and they came out firing with 26 points in the first 8 minutes, but then things slowed down. Coach Hamilton subbed in mostly bench players at that point, and they could not get the ball to go through the hoop, but when the starters returned the cold streak continued for nearly 10 minutes. During that time Ohio Valley was able to pull within 8, but the EKU confidence never faded.
Michael Moreno, who Hamilton calls a superstar, led the team in the first half with 15 points, while Junior Michael Wardy came off the bench to add 9 points. Freshman Devontae Blanton and Curt Lewis each had 7 points.
OVU outrebounded EKU in the first half 18-16. The Colonels press defense forced 10 turnovers in the half and scored 13 points off of those turnovers.
Second Half
The second half was dominated by EKU as expected. Junior Jomaru Brown was clearly the fan-favorite in the second half, he scored 12 points, played great defense, and added great energy off the bench. Sophomore Tariq Balogun was swatting OVU shots like they were mosquitoes, and Senior Russhard Cruickshank added 9 second-half points all from behind the three-point line.
This game was never in question and AW Hamilton’s team goes to 2-0 on the season. Moreno finished the game with 22 points, Russhard Cruickshank had 14 points and Braxton Beverly had 13 points. Seven players scored double-digits. Sophomore Tariq Balogun only had 1 point but he 5 blocks.
What’s Next
Next up for EKU is a bus trip to Wisconsin where they play Milwaukee on Saturday. Tune in to the Sports Stove Podcast Local Hour on Wednesday morning to hear from players from the Men’s Basketball team, Women’s Basketball team, and Football team. Follow me on Twitter for more EKU content.
