RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky head coach Jeff Neubauer told his players at halftime they had to shoot the ball better in the second half to get back into the game.

Adam Leonard responded quickly to his coach’s demands.

The Colonels’ freshman point guard hit 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions early in the second half to take Eastern Illinois’s nine-point halftime lead down to four.

“He’s a hell of a shooter,” said junior forward Bobby Catchings. “I give him credit. Those were three huge shots. Just take one away and the game’s different.”

Leonard finished with a game-high 22 points, two assists, three rebounds and no turnovers in 35 minutes of play.

“It’s incredible for a freshman to make six three’s in a game but he’s done it consistently,” Neubauer said about Leonard. “Adam has shown he’s a pretty good player.”

In the first half EKU struggled from the field, shooting only 29 percent on eight of 27 shooting, while EIU was hot, particularly from beyond the three-point line. Sophomore Mike Robinson, freshman Romain Martin and Catchings combined to shoot 54 percent (six of 11) from beyond the arc.

In the second half Leonard and the Colonels made up for their poor first half performance by shooting a blistering 54 percent.

“Eastern Kentucky’s come out all year in the second half and shot great against every team they’ve played,” Catchings said. “We knew they were going come out and do that.”

EKU guard Mike Rose, who graduated from Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, the same alma mater as Catchings and sophomore forward Billy Parrish, scored 13 of 15 points in the second half and Leonard had 14 of 22 points after halftime.

“Me and Mike, it’s for bragging rights when we come home for the summer,” Catchings said about Rose. “So I’ll have to hear about it this summer.”

Neubauer said he started recruiting Rose when he was an assistant coach with West Virginia in 2004.

“When I got the job (at EKU) and found out he was still available it was a no-brainer and got him here to campus as soon as we could and signed him up,” Neubauer said. “He’s obviously been a great addition to our program. He’s a wonderful kid and he’s also playing pretty well.”

While EKU improved its shooting drastically in the second half, EIU also shot better after halftime. Catchings and Robinson continued to shoot well and the Panthers shot 52 percent from the field, making 11 of 21 shots. But turnovers turned out to be the difference in the game.

EKU had only five turnovers in the game and the Colonels were able to convert EIU’s 10 turnovers into 13 points.