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MOREHEAD, Ky.—Seniors
Les Simmons and
Maze Stallworth made sure their senior day was one to remember.
Simmons finished with 12 points and Stallworth had 11 to lead the Eagles to a 73-63 win over UT Martin in the regular season finale for both teams Saturday night at Johnson Arena. The two seniors, along with
Brandon Shingles who did not play Saturday, were honored prior to the game.
“All three seniors have been very instrumental in building this team,” MSU coach
Donnie Tyndall said.
The Eagles will be the No. 2 seed for next week’s Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. MSU will host seventh-seeded Jacksonville State at home Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. Eagle fans are encouraged to wear blue to the game.
Morehead State pulled away from a halftime tie, opening the second stanza with a 3-pointer by Stallworth. A 3-pointer by
Ty Proffitt gave the Eagles their first double-digit lead and a lay-up by
Terrance Hill extended that lead to 12.
The Skyhawks whittled away at the lead and got within four when Marquis Weddle sunk a triple with 6:55 left, but that was as close as it would get the rest of the way. The Eagles extended their lead with a series of acrobatic dunks to close out the half. The Eagles shot 55.2 percent in the second half, a significant improvement of the first half’s 33.3.
Kenneth Faried had a team-high 15 points and shared MSU rebounding honors with Simmons as they both had seven. Hill added 12 points and
Sam Goodman was the fifth Eagle in double figures with 10.
Demonte Harper had a season-high nine assists and Proffitt dished out four in Shingles’ absence. Faried equaled a career high with five blocks and Harper had four steals.
Sluggish first half shooting and early rebounding woes by Morehead State allowed UT Martin to take early control. Back and forth scoring kept it close, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Weddle and Reuben Clayton gave the Skyhawks a seven-point lead.
The Eagles responded with a 9-1 run to take a 24-23 lead on a 3-pointer by Steve Peterson, one of just two made triples by MSU, who shot 18.2 percent from long range in the first half. The teams traded baskets through the final 2:16 with each team sinking a pair of free throws at the end of the half to knot the score at 28 at the intermission.
“We were really sluggish,” Tyndall said. “This was a trap game after Murray. We talked in practice about how dangerous this team was.”
Weddle had a game-high 20 points and Clayton and Benzor Simmons each had 11 points. Ron Spencer tallied a game-high eight rebounds. The Skyhawks shot 44.9 percent for the game, refusing to allow Morehead State to run away with it.
Despite a negative 10 rebounding margin early in the game, MSU’s league-leading rebounding skills surfaced in the second half and the Eagle won the battle of the boards 34-33.
