GAME NOTES: The Eastern Kentucky Colonels and High Point Panthers will meet up in second-round action of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament on Friday evening at McBrayer Arena.

Jeff Neubauer's Colonels picked up their 20th win of the season in Wednesday's first-round with an 81-75 victory over Norfolk State. EKU posted an 11-7 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference this season and was knocked out of the OVC Tournament by Belmont in the semifinals, 53-52. This is Eastern Kentucky's second appearance in the CIT, going 1-1 in the event in 2013.

It has been a season of firsts for Scott Cherry's Panthers. High Point picked up its first-ever Division I postseason victory on Wednesday with a 70-64 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. With the win, High Point has set a new Division I program record with 23 victories on the year. The Panthers finished atop the Big South's North Division at 13-5 and shared the conference crown with Charleston Southern. The team lost in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament to Gardner-Webb (72-71 OT). High Point also took part in the 2013 CIT.

High Point fell behind by 15 points in the first half, but proceeded to go on a 45-22 run spanning the two halves to take a 10-point lead with three minutes to play. The Panthers were able to force the Hawks into 18 turnovers and won the game at the free-throw line where they outscored UMES 26-8. Junior forward John Brown led the way for High Point with a game-high 23 points. Senior guard Devante Wallace came off the bench for the first time this season to pour in 19 points, while junior forward Lorenzo Cugini just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

One of the Big South's most dynamic playmakers, Brown shoots .543 from the field and is averaging a robust 19.2 ppg. He also leads the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg) and steals (38). Brown was an All-Big South First-Team selection. Wallace is a distant second in the scoring column at 10.2 ppg, while Cugini is just under double figures at 9.8 ppg.

For the first time since 1994, Eastern Kentucky landed two players on the OVC First-Team. Both Corey Walden and Eric Stutz had strong seasons this year. The 6-2 Walden is second in the OVC in scoring (18.5 ppg), second in field-goal percentage (.540) and leads the nation in steals per game (3.1). Stutz has been a fixture for EKU in his career and will break the school record for most games played (131) the second he steps on the court against High Point. The senior forward is netting 15.8 ppg, while hauling in a team-best 5.6 rpg. Timmy Knipp is a valuable asset as well at 10.6 ppg and has amassed a team- high 67 3-pointers this season.

In the win over UMES, Eastern Kentucky shot the ball extremely well, delivering on 51.9 percent from the field overall, including just over 57 percent in the first half. The team drained 13 3-pointers to hold off Norfolk State. Walden and Stutz once again led the way with 22 points apiece. Knipp added 13 points, while Ja'Mill Powell checked in with 12.

High Point has posted nine road victories this season and with Brown leading the way, a 10th isn't out of the question. However, the Colonels have a dynamic duo in Walden and Stutz and that should be enough to earn the win at McBrayer Arena.