Cincy Sporting News » Eagles

Morehead State 51, Murray State 62

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:19:05 +0000

Associated Press

Morehead State guard Sam Goodman (34) drives past Murray State forward Jeffery McClain (22) in the second half of the NCAA college Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Championship game in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, March 6, 2010. Murray State defeated Morehead State 62-51.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For Murray State, the time between NCAA tournament berths had been a dreadful drought lasting way too long. This is a program where wins, Ohio Valley Conference titles and NCAA trips simply go together.

Isaiah Canaan came off the bench and scored 16 points, and Murray State earned its 14th trip to the NCAA tournament and first since 2006 by beating Morehead State 62-51 Saturday night for the Racers’ 14th Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship.

“It is a relief now, and now we’re really able to enjoy it,” Murray State coach Billy Kennedy said of landing his first NCAA berth in his fourth season. “We had a great team … For us to have won 30 games is special. It’s definitely sinking in, and we’re very thankful.”

The Racers (30-4) set a school record for wins in a season, becoming the first OVC school to do that and the first Division I team to 30 wins this year. This title didn’t come easily in a grudge match between the league’s top two seeds, who split their season series.

“I thought we met their physicality the first 25, 30 minutes, and eventually the beating and the banging … maybe just wore them down a tad as the game went on,” Morehead State coach Donnie Tyndall said.

Morehead State (23-10) came in as the defending tournament champion and with Kenneth Faried, the OVC’s player and defensive player of the year. Faried had 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Demonte Harper scored a game-high 20.

But Murray State held Maze Stallworth scoreless — well below his average of 12.8 points per game — and the Eagles to their lowest point total of the season. Stallworth played only 27 minutes and Harper 25 due to foul trouble.

“If Demonte and Maze would’ve gotten to play the normal minutes they usually play, it probably would’ve been a different type of game. I don’t know that we would’ve won, but the score would’ve been different,” Tyndall said.

Call it nice revenge for a 70-65 loss at Morehead State on Feb. 25 that snapped a 17-game winning streak by the Racers.

“It definitely added a little bit more spice to this game, playing those guys,” Murray State senior Tony Easley said.

“They match up with us, so it’s always an exciting game. It’s like a mini-rivalry. It definitely added a little bit more flavor to this game. We wanted our revenge. We felt like we didn’t give them our best shot. We gave them our best shot and knocked them out tonight.”

Morehead State was looking for only its fourth OVC title and a second straight NCAA berth, and the Eagles couldn’t come up with enough offense even as they held Murray State’s top scorer, B.J. Jenkins, to just eight points.

Murray State is a deep team with four Racers averaging in double figures and 10 playing at least 10 minutes. Kennedy went into this game letting all 10 have a chance. But Jenkins was just 2 of 8 from the floor, so Canaan, selected tournament MVP, provided the difference by hitting three 3-pointers.

“Coming to Murray State, I always knew we were going to be winners,” Canaan said.

Kennedy said Canaan’s performance just proves the depth of his team.

“And the unselfishness we have,” the coach said.

This was a tight game with 12 ties and seven lead changes, and Faried gave Morehead State its last lead, 31-30, on a tip-in with 14:45 left. Tony Easley hit a free throw to tie it at 31 before Isacc Miles’ 3-pointer put Murray State ahead to stay, 34-31 with 10:11 left.

Miles added two free throws, then Easley scored before slamming down a dunk to give the Racers some breathing room for the first time all night at 40-31. Jeffery McClain scored, then Canaan hit consecutive 3s before Jenkins scored his second basket of the game on a layup for Murray State’s biggest lead at 50-38 with 3:47 to go.

Harper kept throwing up 3s for Morehead State, but it was too late in this game between Kentucky schools.

The teams started off sloppy, maybe a little too eager for this showdown. They combined for 12 turnovers through the first nine minutes and couldn’t find the basket, either. Murray State hit just three of its first 11 from the floor, while Morehead State was just 2 of 7.

They went into halftime tied at 24 when Faried found Terrance Hill all alone in the right corner for a 3-pointer he threw up just before the buzzer. The officials ruled it good, and Hill posed in the corner with his right hand up in the air for a couple of moments just to make sure it counted.

Ty Proffitt of Morehead State and Ivan Aska of Murray State grappled hard for the ball on the ground early in the second half before officials called a jump ball.

But the most violent play came with 9:20 left, when Faried went up for a rebound and Miles got his shoulder under him, slamming the 6-foot-8 Faried onto the court with his right arm caught behind him. Replays of the foul on the video board had fans booing loudly, but Faried missed only 40 seconds of the game before returning.

Tennessee Tech 47, Morehead St. 76

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:14:42 +0000

Associated Press

Eagles Fly Past Tech, Face Murray For Title

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Maze Stallworth scored 15 of his 24 points in the first half and Morehead State defeated Tennessee Tech 76-47 on Friday night in an Ohio Valley Conference semifinal.

Kenneth Faried, the OVC Player of the Year, had 10 points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes for Morehead State. Demonte Harper and Terrance Hill added 10 each for the No. 2 seeded Eagles, who are seeking their second straight tournament title against Murray State in the championship on Saturday.

Stallworth, who was 4 of 5 from 3-point range, hit three in the first half as the Eagles (23-9) built an 18-point lead.

The Golden Eagles (15-17) went 11 minutes without a field goal during a 24-7 run by Morehead State.

Alfred Jones, Jud Dillard, Elijah Cunningham-Muhammad and Zach Bailey scored nine each for sixth-seeded Tennessee Tech, which was held to its season-low point production.

Jacksonville State 54, Morehead State 87

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:35:26 +0000

Associated Press

Kenneth Faried, who notched his 22nd double-double of the season, pulling down 19 boards and tallying 24 points, one rebound shy of his second 20-20 game this season.

MOREHEAD, Ky. — Kenneth Faried scored 24 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to lead Morehead State to an 87-54 rout over Jacksonville State on Tuesday night in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

Faried, who had eight offensive rebounds, shot 10 of 17 from the floor for the second-seeded Eagles (22-9), who advance to the second round to face either Austin Peay or Tennessee Tech on Friday.

Steve Peterson had 14 points and six rebounds for Morehead State. DeMonte Harper had 13 points and Terrance Hill added 11.

The Eagles scored 15 straight points in the first half to claim a 19-2 lead. Ty Proffitt’s driving layup gave Morehead State a 37-9 advantage with 2:42 left before halftime.

Morehead State shot 48 percent from the floor (28-for-58) compared to the seventh-seeded Gamecocks (12-18), who shot 37 percent (19-for-51). Jacksonville State’s Stephen Hall had 20 points.

Tennessee-Martin 63, Morehead State 73

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:25:15 +0000

Associated Press

MOREHEAD, Ky. — Kenneth Faried scored 15 points to help lead Morehead State past Tennessee-Martin 73-63 on Saturday night.

Terrance Hill and Les Simmons chipped in with 12 points each for the Eagles (21-9, 15-3 Ohio Valley Conference). Morehead State closed out its regular season winning four of its last five games.

The two teams were tied at 28 at halftime, but the Eagles used an 11-2 run in the second half to assume a 52-40 lead after a layup from Hill with 11:24 remaining in the contest. Tennessee-Martin cut the deficit to four points, but was unable to get any closer.

Marquis Weddle scored 20 points to pace the Skyhawks (4-25, 1-17), who lost their last six games.

Morehead State scored 25 points off of 20 Skyhawks turnovers.

The Eagles finished the season in the second spot of the OVC standings, while Tennessee-Martin finished in last place.

Morehead St. 70, Murray St. 65

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:27:14 +0000

Associated Press

MOREHEAD, Ky. — Terrance Hill hit a 3-pointer with 39 seconds to go to help Morehead State stop Murray State‘s nation-leading 17-game win streak, 70-65, on Thursday night.

The Eagles (20-9, 14-3 Ohio Valley Conference) led 60-51 with 5:38 to go, but the Racers (26-4, 16-1) went on an 11-2 run to tie it on Isacc Miles’ two free throws with 1:14 remaining.

With a little more than 45 seconds left, Hill threw an inbounds pass to Demonte Harper, who handed it back to Hill for the game-winning 3.

Hill finished with 13 points, including 3 of 4 3-pointers. Kenneth Faried added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Morehead State, which finished with back-to-back 20-win seasons and a 14-win conference slate for the first time in school history.

The Eagles shot 53.3 percent from the field (24 of 45) and scored 19 second-chance points.

Miles finished with 18 points for Murray State.

Morehead State 62, Illinois State 71

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:08:25 +0000

Associated Press

NORMAL, Ill. — Osiris Eldridge had 26 points and nine rebounds to lead Illinois State to a 71-62 victory over Morehead State on Saturday.

Dinma Odiakosa had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Redbirds (20-8) in the BracketBusters game. Alex Rubin had 15 points and Justin Clark 10 for Illinois State, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference that reached the 20-victory mark for the third straight season.

Eldridge scored 18 of his points in the first half.

Kenneth Faried had 13 points and eight rebounds to lead Morehead State (19-9). The Ohio Valley Conference school trailed 34-30 at halftime. Steve Peterson and Demonte Harper each scored 11 points for the Eagles.

Eastern Kentucky 64, Morehead State 77

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:29:16 +0000

Associated Press

Eagles Fry Colonels, Win Record 13th OVC Game To Clinch Second Place

MOREHEAD, Ky. — Maze Stallworth scored 20 points and Morehead State beat Eastern Kentucky 77-64 on Wednesday night.

The Eagles (19-8, 13-3 Ohio Valley Conference) shot 56.3 percent (18 of 32) in the first half and led 45-25 at halftime.

Kenneth Faried, who finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds, had five points and five boards in the first 2 minutes, sparking Morehead State to a 9-2 lead.

After the Colonels (18-10, 10-6) pulled within 11-8 on Josh Taylor’s dunk, Morehead State answered with 10 straight points to go ahead 21-8 with 10:21 left in the first half.

Steve Peterson added 15 points and Demonte Harper 11 for the Eagles.

Eastern Kentucky shot 37 percent from the field (21 of 57), and had two of its top three scorers, Justin Stommes (14.7 points per game) and Papa Oppong (11.3), combine for four points.

Josh Taylor paced Eastern Kentucky with 21 points.

Morehead State 73, Southeast Missouri State 54

admin — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:40:07 +0000

Associated Press

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Morehead State started the game with a 16-0 spurt and defeated Southeast Missouri 73-54 on Saturday night.

Reigning conference player of the week Kenneth Faried had 15 points and 12 rebounds for his 19th double-double for the Eagles (18-8, 12-3 Ohio Valley).

Maze Stallworth led Morehead State with 23 points and went 6-for-8 from 3-point range for the second straight game. Demonte Harper added 11 points.

Cameron Butler led the Redhawks (7-19, 3-12) with 12 points. Anthony Allison had 11.

The Eagles went 11 of 20 from 3-point range and outrebounded the Redhawks 34-24.

Morehead State, which has won 14 of its last 16, clinched and a home game in the OVC tournament. The Redhawks have lost eight of their last 10.

The Eagles used a stifling full-court press during its game-opening assault. Butler’s two free throws with 15:32 left in the first half were the Redhawks’ first points.

Morehead State 75, Eastern Illinois 76

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:22:07 +0000

Associated Press

Eagles Drop Gut Wrencher on the Road at EIU, 76-75

CHARLESTON, Ill. — Tyler Laser hit two free throws on a technical foul with 1 second left as Eastern Illinois edged Morehead State 76-75 on Thursday night.

Maze Stallworth drained a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to put Morehead State ahead 75-74.

As the Panthers came up the court, the ball was knocked away, and a Morehead State player tried to call a timeout. But the Eagles had used all their timeouts, so a technical was called, and Laser hit the free throws.

James Hollowell had 23 points, Laser 16 and Jeremy Granger 10 for the Panthers (13-11, 7-7 Ohio Valley).

Eastern Illinois shot 57.8 percent (26 of 45) from the field and 95.5 percent (21 of 22) from the line.

Kenneth Faried led the Eagles (17-8, 11-3) with 19 points but had his string of nine straight double-doubles halted with seven rebounds. Stallworth scored 18 points and Demonte Harper 15.

Tennessee Tech 75, Morehead State 84

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:21:48 +0000

Associated Press

Junior Kenneth Faried had 26 points, one off his career high, and Peterson finished with 20 points, setting a new career high by four points.

MOREHEAD, Ky. — Kenneth Faried had 26 points and 17 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the season and ninth straight while leading Morehead State to an 84-75 win over Tennessee Tech on Saturday night.

The Eagles (17-7, 11-2 Ohio Valley Conference) swept the season series to win their second game in a row and 13th of their last 14.

Morehead State used a 12-0 run to rally from a 23-18 first-half deficit and led 34-32 at halftime.

The second half was tied five times, the last at 45, then the Eagles went on a 13-5 run.

Tennessee Tech (12-12, 6-7) got within 73-70 with 3:12 left, but had three players foul out in the last 3:28 as Morehead State pulled away.

Steve Peterson added 20 points and Demonte Harper had 17 for the Eagles, who shot 51.9 percent from the field (27-for-52).

Jud Dillard led Tennessee Tech with 25 points and 12 rebounds and Frank Davis scored 21.