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MOREHEAD, Ky.—Demonte Harper scored 22 points, including a key 3-pointer, and took a late charge to lift Morehead State to a 75-65 Ohio Valley Conference win Saturday night. The Eagles donned new black uniforms to match the black-clad 4,036 raucous fans that turned out for black-out night Johnson Arena.
Kenneth Faried added 21 points, the fourth time this season he’s scored 20 or more. The senior also had 10 rebounds for the 64th double-double of his career. Harper added five assists, the third time this season he’s had five or more assists.
“I was proud of our guys tonight. I felt like we played with a confidence and a swagger that’s needed in order to beat a good team like Murray State, even though it was on our home floor,” Morehead State coach Donnie Tyndall said. “If you’re going to play for a conference championship in this league it’s going to go through Murray State, especially this year with who they had returning from a phenomenal team last season.”
Murray State had cut the lead to four following a four-point play by B.J. Jenkins. Jenkins nailed a 3-pointer, was fouled on the attempt and calmly sunk the free throw to make it a four-point game with 2:17 to play. Harper rolled off a screen on the next possession and drilled the 3-pointer to negate Jenkins’ three.
After Terrance Hill swished a pair of free throws to make it a nine-point game, Jenkins crashed into Harper while driving for what would have been an easy layup. Jenkins was whistled for an offensive foul, ending any chance of a last-minute rally. The Eagles hit 6-of-6 at the line in the final minutes to seal the win. Hill finished with 15 points, swishing 3-of-6 from long range and a perfect 6-of-6 at the charity stripe. The junior, who had been sick, snapped a four-game streak in which the deep threat hit just one 3-pointer.
“Terrance has really struggled, especially from the three until tonight. Think about that guy he was sick the last two days, he couldn’t even practice yesterday,” Tyndall said. “And he steps in tonight, plays 31 minutes, shoots the ball the best he’s shot it all season.”
The Eagles won at home for the 18th straight game and stayed perfect in the OVC at 2-0. Morehead State has not lost a home conference game since the 2007-08 season. The Racers (4-4, 1-1 OVC) and Eagles (5-3, 2-0) were picked first and second respectively in the league preseason.
“Anytime you have four players from your team that are preseason First Team All-Conference, I think that speaks for itself in regard to their talent level, but the thing that’s impressive about them -- not only are they well-coached, not only are they talented, but they play extremely, extremely hard. They fought right to the bitter end, so give them a lot of credit,” Tyndall said.
Both teams shot extremely well, and Morehead State needed every bit of its 59.5 percent from the field to offset the hot-handed Racers. Murray sunk 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from long range and missed just one free throw, hitting 15-of-16. Morehead State took advantage of 19 Racer turnovers, turning those into 24 points.
The Eagles started the first half hot, scoring six points in the first two minutes, three each from Faried and Harper. Murray, who trailed 6-0, quickly got back in the game and tied the score at eight on a 3-pointer by Isaiah Canaan. Morehead State opened it back up, taking a seven-point lead on a jumper by Faried, but the Racers again fought back and took their first lead on a pair of freebies by Jenkins. The teams traded buckets through the remainder of the half, but a jumper by Harper and a 3-pointer by Proffitt gave the Eagles a 31-28 lead at halftime.
The second half opened much the same way as the first half ended, but six minutes in, Morehead State turned a one point lead into an 11-point advantage with a 10-0 run spurred by a Sam Goodman jumper and a monster dunk from Faried. The lead got as high as 14 following a traditional three-point play by Harper, but Murray again closed the gap and got within four following Jenkins’ four-point play.
Canaan led the Racers with 17 points and Isacc Miles had 12 points and five assists. Jenkins finished with 11 points and a team-high six rebounds. Murray State was playing without the services of freshman center Shawn Jackson, who was injured prior to the game.
The Eagles step out of conference play for two games, starting with a home contest against St. Catharine College Tuesday. Tip-off versus the NAIA Patriots, where Tyndall spent one year as a head coach, is set for 7 p.m.
