One way or the other, either Morehead State’s or Eastern Kentucky’s impressive streak was bound to come to end Saturday night. MSU made sure it was EKU’s.
Kenneth Faried scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, while Maze Stallworth scored 15 as the Eagles won their 10th straight game, 69-53, over EKU and ended the Colonels’ 19-game home winning streak at McBrayer Arena.
“Every game is so important, we’re not into breaking streaks,” MSU coach Donnie Tyndall said. “We just want to get better and keep winning ball games. I think our team is getting better and better, but we’ve not yet reached our ceiling.”
The Eagles improved to 14-6 and 8-1 in the OVC before a near capacity crowd of 5,600. EKU fell to 14-7 and 6-3 in the league, losing for the first time at home in more than two seasons. It’s the first time since the 1983-84 season the Eagles have won 10 straight.
"I want to thank our fans for making the trip to Richmond tonight," Tyndall said. "It was great to see and hear the cheers from a large contingent of blue and gold."
MSU also succeeded in holding EKU nearly 23 points below its season scoring average. The Colonels scored 76 points a game in McBrayer prior to Saturday night.
“I’m very proud of our team, our players and our staff,” Tyndall said. “It’s the hardest thing to do in college basketball to go on the road and win.”
The Eagles vaulted out a quick 11-3 lead on the strength of three Faried baskets, including a rebound slam, and a Demonte Harper triple. After a pair of EKU free throws made it 11-5, Terrance Hill buried a three-pointer from the left corner at 13:40.
The Colonels cut the MSU lead to 16-11, but Sam Goodman knocked down a three-pointer from the left corner to quiet the EKU rally and make it a 19-11 Eagle advantage with 7:59 to play in the opening half. Just 20 seconds later, Stallworth canned a three of his own from the same spot, giving MSU an 11-point (22-11) lead.
After Jones hit a trey for EKU, Ty Proffitt fed Faried with a high arching half-court pass for a thunderous alley-oop. The Eagles led 26-14, but the Colonels would not go away, scoring the next five to climb back to within 26-19 at the 4:08 mark.
The Eagles held a 28-24 lead at the half.
In the second half, the Colonels had the game down to a one-point Eagle lead (30-29) within two minutes, but back-to-back dunks by Harper and Faried pushed the margin back out to 34-29. Two more Eagle scores had the MSU lead out to 38-29 with 13:30 left. After Wllie Cruz’s field goal at 18:31, the Colonels didn’t connect on another bucket from the floor until 11:07 when Papa Oppong tipped in a missed shot.
At that point, the Eagles led 42-35, but MSU scored the next five to run it out to 47-35 after a steal by Harper and an uncontested lay-in from Brandon Shingles off Harper’s assist at 10:49. Harper scored again at 9:41, and Shingles swiped Justin Stommes’ pocket and laid in another basket 15 seconds later to give the Eagles a 16-point cushion (51-35).
The Colonels put together a rally of their own, cutting the Eagles down to 54-47 before Faried was able to halt the score with power move in the paint.
The Eagles were able to ice the game down the stretch at the free throw line where they shot 15 for 21 on the night.
Harper added 13 points for MSU, which shot 50 percent for the game (24-of-48) and 52 percent in the second half. The Eagles also out-rebounded the Colonels 39-24. MSU held one of the nation’s top three-point shooting teams to just 6-for-22 from beyond the arc. The Colonels also shot only 32 percent for the game and just 29 percent in the final half. MSU outscored the hosts 32-22 in the paint as well.
“To come into this environment with 5,600 people was the toughest environment that we’ve played in in my four years in the OVC. And us be able to come away with a win is a tribute to our team,” Tyndall said.
Oppong topped EKU’s scoring column with 14, while Joshua Jones tallied 11.
Morehead State will travel to Tennessee State on Thursday, Jan. 28 for a game that will tip at 8:30 p.m.
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