Men’s Basketball Takes Down Southern Indiana With Gritty 71-66 Overtime Win

EVANSVILLE, IN — The Morehead State men’s basketball team dug deep and edged past the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles 71-66 in overtime on the road Saturday.

The Eagles (16-9, 9-3 OVC), who played their first extra-period game this season, had four players score in double figures, led by Mark Freeman, who had 16 points and four assists. Kalil Thomas added 14 points and six rebounds and Drew Thelwell chipped in as well with 12 points and two steals. He was 8-for-8 at the free throw lone, including two tosses at the end of the overtime to ice the win. Branden Maughmer came through with 10 points as well.

With the win and a loss by Southeast Missouri, the Eagles jumped into sole possession of the first place in the OVC race.

How It Happened
After falling behind 29-27, Morehead State went on an 8-0 run with 2:08 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from LJ Bryan, to take a 35-29 lead, a score that would hold until halftime. Morehead State took advantage of five offensive rebounds to score seven second chance points out of 35 total in the period

Southern Indiana proceeded to take a 54-48 lead before Morehead State went on a 9-0 run, finished off by Thomas’ three, to seize a 57-54 lead with 1:01 to go in the contest. The Screaming Eagles then fought back to even things up at 59-59 and send the game to overtime with a three-pointer from the corner at the final regulation horn went off.

Southern Indiana then snagged a 66-65 advantage with 25 seconds left in the first overtime before Morehead State responded by going on a 6-0 run to seize a 71-66 lead with three seconds to go in the period, a score which would hold for the rest of the game.

Game Notes
» Mark Freeman led the Eagles with 16 points.
» Morehead State got a team-high six rebounds from Kalil Thomas.
» MSU hit 17 of 20 from the free throw line.

Up Next
MSU stays on the road this week, traveling to Little Rock Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. ET game.

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