By Cody Evans
MOREHEAD
MARCH 5 — NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Morehead State’s (23-10) hopes of orchestrating another dream NCAA Tournament run were dashed Saturday night in Nashville when the Eagles fell 62-51 in the OVC Championship game to the Murray State Racers (30-4).
MSU guard and Nashville native Demonte Harper led Morehead State in scoring with a game-high 20 points. Kenneth Faried was second on the team, posting a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
After a 76-47 beating of Tennessee Tech in the semifinals, Morehead State carried its confidence into the tournament final, battling toe-to-toe throughout the first half with the favored Racers.
The opening frame saw the score tied on nine occasions and the lead change hands five times.
With one second remaining in the half, and the Eagles trailing by three, Faried kicked the ball out to sophomore Terrance Hill on the wing. Hill drained a three-pointer to knot the score at 24 going into the break.
The battle continued into the second half until the 10:15 mark when Murray State took their final lead.
With Eagle starters Maze Stallworth and Demonte Harper in foul trouble for much of the game and point guard Brandon Shingles playing a limited role due to a previous ankle injury, the Racers were able to pull away in the clutch.
“Murray State played very well. Their defensive pressure kept us out of some things at the offensive end,” Morehead State head coach Donnie Tyndall said.
Tyndall said the game was physical and the accumulation of injuries and fouls damaged Morehead State’s chance for a win.
“With Demonte and Maze playing limited minutes — really, really hurt our team,” Tyndall said. “When you play that physical, their (Murray State) depth eventually takes its toll on us, and I think that’s what happened about the last eight minutes of the game. It’s just frustrating to play that physical, and then you have two of your better players sitting over there with me most of the night on some ticky-tack touch fouls.”
With the second half winding down, Tyndall inserted Harper back into the lineup. Harper took charge of the Eagle offense, scoring 15 of his 20 points in the last 5:31 of the game.
“If Demonte and Maze would have gotten to play to normal minutes they usually play, it probably would have a different type of game,” Tyndall said. “I don’t know if we would have won, but the score would have been different — we’ll be back next year.”
