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MOREHEAD, Ky.—Last year, Morehead State went to arch-rival Eastern Kentucky and ended their 19-game winning streak. Saturday, the Colonels returned the favor Saturday at Johnson Arena
EKU beat the Eagles 59-49 in an Ohio Valley Conference game, snapping MSU’s 24-home game winning streak and 22-game OVC winning home streak.
It was the Colonels' fifth straight win on the road and just their second win against Morehead State in the last eight meetings. EKU improved to 11-9 overall and 5-4 in the OVC. The Eagles fell to 12-8 and 5-4 in league play.
Both offenses struggled for most of the game, shooting 29.6 percent (MSU) and 33.3 percent (EKU) from the field. The Colonels, who hit just 25 percent in the first half, were better in the second half, shooting 40.7 percent. Morehead State’s top three scorers, Kenneth Faried, Demonte Harper, and Terrance Hill were a combined 7-of-39 from the field, scoring 24 points, well shy of their 44-point average.
Eastern Kentucky’s real advantage came on turnovers, scoring 17 points off of 18 MSU giveaways.
The Eagles started hot, scoring 12 points in the first five minutes to take a 12-5 lead on a layup by Drew Kelly. Eastern Kentucky stormed right back with a 10-0 run to take a three-point lead. The game was back-and-forth through halftime, during which MSU held a 24-21 lead.
Morehead State got up by five on a 3-pointer by Harper 12 minutes into the second half, but five straight, a three from Justin Stommes and a layup by Josh Daniel tied it at 37. Daniel hit a triple five minutes later that started a 10-0 run for the Colonels and was broken by a trey from Terrance Hill with just 36 seconds left. The EKU lead was eight and the visitors hit their free throws in the closing seconds to seal the win.
The Eagles dominated the glass, grabbing 50 rebounds, 20 on the offensive end to Eastern’s 21. Faried almost caught EKU with a season-high 21 rebounds, six of which were on his own end of the court. But MSU had trouble converting those offensive rebounds, scoring just 13 second-chance points.
Harper led MSU with 13 points, and Drew Kelly had 10 points. Kelly and Sam Goodman each had six rebounds, and Harper dished out four steals.
Daniel led EKU with 18 points, and Joshua Jones tallied 14. Both Jones and Daniel swished four triples. Stommes dished out four assists and Daniel had a team-high five boards.
Morehead State’s road doesn’t get any easier. The Eagles step out of conference Monday to face a talented Ball State team before returning home to play Tennessee State and Austin Peay, two of the top three in the OVC standings.
