RICHMOND, Ky. – A valiant effort by the Morehead State men’s basketball team came up inches short Saturday night at Eastern Kentucky as the Eagles fell 80-76 in the regular season finale.
A back and forth battle saw MSU hold a second-half lead midway through the final 20 minutes, but a five-point swing – all on EKU free throws – shifted the lead back to the hosts, and MSU played catch up the rest of the way as the Eagles ended the regular season 7-11 in the OVC and 13-18 overall.
EKU, which had already locked up fourth place for the OVC Tournament, finished 15-17 overall and 12-6 in the league. Despite the loss, MSU still grabbed a spot in the OVC Tournament next week as the Eagles will be the No. 8 seed. They’ll face No. 5 Tennessee State on opening night Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Junior James Baker registered his second double-double of the year with 20 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Baker scored his fourth straight game with double figure points. Senior guard Jordan Walker became just the third player in program history with 200+ career three-pointers with three triples and moved to 11th in career scoring at MSU with 1,471 points, including 17 tonight.
KEY MOMENTS
– Michael Moreno’s jumper with 3:54 left in the first half pushed the EKU lead out to 37-27.
– Walker keyed a 9-3 run to end the half with a bucket and two free throws.
– Walker’s triple with 1:22 left in the opening half had the Eagles to within 37-36 before Ty Taylor’s three-pointer at the 55-second mark set the halftime score at 40-36 in favor of EKU.
– Freshman Tyzhaun Claude stuffed a dunk with 17:57 left to finally give the Eagles their first lead, 45-44. It capped a 9-2 run after falling behind 42-36 early in the second half.
– Tied at 49, the Eagles saw the Colonels score a quick six points to move back ahead 55-49 with less than 15 minutes on the clock.
– Another 9-2 MSU run, punctuated by Juice Thomas’ put-back layup, sent the Eagles ahead again, 58-57, with 11:43 remaining.
– But, Jomaru Brown made three straight free throws after a foul was whistled on a shot, and EKU added two more on a technical foul called on MSU, to move back out 62-58. Two more subsequent buckets catapulted EKU to a 66-58 cushion before an Eagle 30-second timeout.
– Cooper nailed his second three-ball of the night at 4:22 to trim the Colonel lead down to 73-70 before the final media timeout at 3:59.
– Baker’s tip-in with 1:38 left set the Eagle deficit at only one again, 75-74.
– MSU had a chance to take the lead, but Thomas’ shot with 26 ticks left fell off and EKU made two free throws on the opposite end.
– Walker came up just short on a three-point attempt with 10 seconds left, and EKU made another two free throws. Thomas hit a layup with one second left.
KEY STATS
– Besides Baker and Walker, senior guard Djimon Henson scored 10 – his 16th double-figure game in the last 21 outings.
– Freshman guard Ta’lon Cooper netted 14 points, including 2-for-2 on three-pointers, before fouling out late.
– MSU turned the ball over 17 times, well above its season average, which turned into 20 EKU points.
– The Eagles hit 28-of-47 for 49 percent, while EKU hit 44 percent.
– Both teams were solid at the free throw line, but EKU hit 19 of their 22 while MSU hit 14 of its 18.
QUOTING COACH SPRADLIN
“Our effort was absolutely there tonight. I thought we played well enough to win on their home floor tonight. Coming off a loss the other day, I was so proud of our team. We responded well. We learned as individuals that even though our backs are against the wall, we are going to do whatever it takes to keep our season going.”
“We didn’t respond to their press (defense) well early on and had too many turnovers against their press. Our guys came out swinging though in the second half.”
“We had a couple of opportunities and looks to extend the game there in the final 30 seconds and just came up a little short. Our guys did a much better job calming down and breaking the press in the second half. We did a lot of really nice things.”
“It was impressive for James Baker with a double-double, and of course our two seniors (Jordan and Djimon) gave their all tonight.”
