Eastern Kentucky beats South Carolina State 63-52

RICHMOND, Ky. (AP) Denzel Richardson scored 18 points and grabbed four rebounds as Eastern Kentucky beat South Carolina State 63-52 on Saturday night.

Eric Stutz added another 18 points for the Colonels (8-5). Corey Walden had 11 points and Isaac McGlone had nine.

The Colonels took early advantage of stone-cold shooting by SC State to run up a 15-2 lead with 12:29 to play in the first period. They led 35-24 at the break.

Richardson helped take the Colonels to 49-30 with a trio of 3-pointers early in the second period. A minute later, SC State tried to close the gap on a 12-5 run but fell short and Eastern Kentucky led 56-42 with 7:52 remaining. The Colonels maintained their double-digit lead throughout the rest of the game.

Darryl Palmer led the Bulldogs (4-12) with 16 points and eight rebounds. The loss is the fourth-straight for SC State.