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COOKEVILLE, Tenn.— Trailing by six at the half at Tennessee Tech Thursday night, the Morehead State men’s basketball team played an inspired second 20-minute period and rallied to knock off the Golden Eagles 77-64 and earn the program’s 1,000th all-time victory.
MSU won its fifth straight game, improved to 9-6 overall and 4-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Tech, which entered the game averaging 77 points per game, fell to 7-8 and 1-3 in the league. The victory was also MSU’s fourth consecutive over TTU in the last three seasons.
Tied at 47 in the second half, the Eagles outscored Tech 23-6 over an eight minute period to take control. The Eagles shot 55 percent in the second half and outscored the host Golden Eagles 50-31. MSU also made only two turnovers in the final half after committing eight in the first half. The Eagles force 14 Tech mistakes and turned that around into 29 points. TTU had only 11 points off Eagle turnovers.
“The main thing for us is that in the second half we played with only two turnovers,” MSU coach
Donnie Tyndall. “It kept them from scoring in transition.”
Kenneth Faried led four Eagles in double figures as he posted his ninth double-double of the season with 20 points and 14 rebounds while also adding three steals and two blocks.
Demonte Harper scored 15, while Terrence Hill and
Maze Stallworth each tallied 12.
“Kenneth Faried was the best player in the OVC for 20 minutes tonight,” Tyndall said. “He was definitely a dominating force for us tonight.”
Elijah Muhammed led Tech with 16 points, while Kevin Murphy had 15 and Frank Davis posted 11. The Golden Eagles were just 3-of-11 from three-point range.
The Eagles vaulted out to a quick 10-2 lead four minutes into the game after a Harper trey. Tech, however, climbed back into the contest via an 11-4 run. With 11:27 left in the first half, MSU held a 14-13 lead. The Eagles went on to lead 18-13.
Tech put together a 16-2 run and pushed ahead 29-20 with 2:47 left. MSU’s lone field goal in the Tech run was a Harper jumper at the 8:16 point. Tech’s largest lead of the opening half was 10 (33-23). Steve Peterson knocked down a bucket with four seconds left to leave MSU with a 33-27 halftime deficit.
For the game, TTU managed to shoot 55 percent, including 60 percent in the second half. MSU shot 48 percent and hit six three-pointers. MSU also won the battle on the glass, 35-27. Fifteen of the 35 boards were offensive, leading to a 16-7 edge in second chance points.
“Our team tonight showed the depth we have,” Tyndall said. “I thought our guys off the bench played a big role. We’re a nice team with good depth so we can wear some teams down.”
The Eagles continue on the road Saturday against Jacksonville State. Tip time at Pete Mathews Coliseum is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. EDT.
