MOREHEAD, Ky. — Despite piecing together their finest half of the season, the Eagles dropped a heartbreaker to Bellarmine Saturday, 68-61.
It was a tale of two halves for Morehead State (1-5), who dominated the first half of the game, but couldn’t keep the momentum up into the second half, as they watched Bellarmine race back from an 11 point halftime deficit to upend the Eagles in the final few minutes. The Eagles shot 51.5% from the field in the first half and outrebounded the Knights 18-12, only to be held to 25.9% from the field in the second half and losing the battle on the boards 20-14.
The Eagles were led by graduate student Terri Smith, who poured in a career high 22 points to go alongside four rebounds and three assists. Jada Claude joined Smith as the other double-figure scorer for the Eagles, scoring 10 points and pulling down seven rebounds, while Julan McDonald chipped in nine points of her own and Tyler Moore added eight points.
The Eagles opened the game hot from the field, connecting on their first five field goal attempts and shooting 60% for the quarter, and raced out to an early 22-12 lead. The offensive barrage continued into the second half, where the Eagles connected on four shots from beyond the arc and capped off their best half of the season, as they took a 44-33 lead into halftime.
The game would turn in the third quarter however, as the Morehead State offense was finally slowed down and the Eagles were held to only seven points in the frame, while Bellarmine used a 12-0 run over a four minute stretch to take their first lead of the game with 6:46 remaining.
The Eagles fought back, with an old fashioned three point play from Aiden Rainford knotting the game up at 56 apiece with 5:38 to go, but the Eagles could not find an answer for Bellarmine’s offense, who made four of their final five shots while the Eagles missed their final three attempts, and the Morehead State comeback bid came up short.
The Eagles look to bounce back when they travel to Waco, Texas to continue their four game road trip as they take on #6 Baylor, Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET.