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BOSTON, Mass.—Heading into Monday night’s game, Morehead State men’s basketball had only been outrebounded five previous times this season, but four of those resulted in losses for the Eagles. That trend held true Monday night.
Boston University pulled down three more rebounds than MSU, including 19 on the offensive end to upend the Eagles 91-89 in overtime of the College Basketball Invitational quarterfinals at Case Gymnasium.
It was just the second time this year that Morehead has pulled down more than 40 rebounds and lost and it overshadowed career performances by senior Maze Stallworth and sophomore Terrance Hill. MSU also committed 19 turnovers, 16 of which were because of BU steals.
Stallworth finished with season-high 27 points, draining a career-high equaling eight 3-pointers. Hill had his first 20-point game, sinking five triples en route to a career-high 21-point performance. He hit one at the end of regulation that along with a pair of Steve Peterson free throws sent the game to overtime, and then Hill added two more 3-pointers in the extra frame to put the Eagles in a position to win.
Morehead State, down 11 in the second half, rallied following 3-pointers from Stallworth and Peterson. The teams traded free throws, and then with less than a minute left and his team down five, Hill stroked a clutch 3-pointer from the wing to make it a two-point game with 31 seconds left. The Eagles promptly stole the ensuing inbounds pass and Peterson, trying to score a quick bucket, was fouled. He tied the game by swishing both freebies, and BU couldn’t get any of its three shot attempts in the final 10 seconds to fall.
“I thought our team showed a lot of grit and toughness battling back to force overtime,” MSU coach Donnie Tyndall said. “I thought the difference was that they outrebounded us by three, they had 19 offensive rebounds in addition to us giving up 19 turnovers. It was just too much to overcome,”
The Terriers scored the first seven points of overtime, but the Eagles again rallied, cutting the deficit to four on a Hill 3-pointer and to two on a dunk by junior Kenneth Faried, who had his 25th double-double of the season. Tyler Morris made two free throws for BU, but Hill drilled a 3-pointer with three seconds left to make it a one-point game.
Jeff Pelage was fouled with 0.6 seconds left, and he missed the first and made the second. MSU had a chance at a quick catch and shoot, but junior Demonte Harper’s desperation half-court shot was off the mark.
Faried finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds and three blocks. Junior Sam Goodman had a career-high five assists and Harper and senior Brandon Shingles each checked in with four.
The Eagles took a quick 8-0 lead in the first half and led by as many as 11 points, but Boston closed the gap with a Jake O’Brien 3-pointer sandwiched by a pair of Morris lay-ups. BU took the lead for the first time on another three by O’Brien, who was 5-of-8 from long range and the Terriers threatened to open a big lead at the end of the half, but a jumper by Goodman and a trey by Hill made it a one-point BU advantage at halftime.
The Eagles shot 42.3 percent from the field for the game, and 47.1 percent from beyond the arc. Boston was 36.2 percent from the field, but almost as good from long range, hitting 46.4 percent of their shots. The Terriers had 15 second chance points and 27 points off of turnovers.
Morehead State finished the season at 24-11, one win shy of the school record for victories. It was the first time in MSU history the Eagles have had back-to-back 20-win seasons and back-to-back postseason (non-OVC) wins. Tyndall, who completed his fourth season at the helm of his alma mater, finished with more wins than the previous year for the fourth straight season. MSU also set a school record with 15 OVC wins during the regular season.
Monday also marked the final game in an Eagle uniform for seniors Stallworth, Shingles and Les Simmons.
“When you look back, this was one of the best seasons in Eagle basketball history,” Tyndall said. “I’m extremely proud of our team, we will miss our three seniors tremendously.”
