Freeman Erupts for 30 In Men’s Hoops’ OVC Opening Win at Tennessee State

SCORE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mark Freeman erupted for a career-high 30 points against his former team, andDrew Thelwell hit a dagger 3-pointer with 53 seconds left in the game to put Morehead State ahead 78-71, and the Eagles secured an 83-75 OVC opening win against the Tennessee State Tigers on the road Thursday.

The Eagles (8-6, 1-0 OVC) had three players score in double figures, led by Freeman (he played at TSU for two seasons), who also had four assists. Freeman tied his career high that he had set against Morehead State while at TSU two seasons ago. Jake Wolfe added 14 points (to tie his season high), and Thelwell chipped in as well with 13 points.

Morehead State utilized fantastic ball movement in Thursday’s game, piling up 15 assists on 29 made field goals. Freeman’s four assists were the most for the Eagles and Wolfe also contributed with three assists of his own.

How It Happened

After jumping out to a 29-23 advantage, Morehead State went on a 9-0 run with 6:15 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Thelwell, to increase its lead to 38-23. The Eagles then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 40-33 advantage. Morehead State took advantage of five offensive rebounds to score 10 second chance points out of 40 total in the period

Tennessee State proceeded to take a 45-44 lead before Morehead State went on an 8-0 run, finished off by Thelwell’s three, to seize a 52-45 lead with 12:51 to go in the contest. The game was tied 66-66 with just more than four minutes remaining, but the Eagles kept expanding the margin and held on the rest of the way for the 83-75 win. Morehead State shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting seven shots from deep to score 21 of its 43 points.

Game Notes
» The Eagles shot well from three point range, knocking down 11 of 23 long range attempts.
» Morehead State tallied 15 total assists in the game.
» Morehead State had a 39-28 edge on the boards in the win.
» Morehead State got a game-high eight rebounds from both Alex Gross and Branden Maughmer, a career-best for Maughmer.
» It was the fifth consecutive win for the Eagles over Tennessee State.

Up Next
The Eagles continue league play at UT Martin on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.

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