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MOREHEAD, Ky.—Morehead State’s bench picked a good time to have a productive night.
The Eagles got 20 bench points to help spur a late run and hold off a pesky Tennessee Tech team, beating the Golden Eagles 76-64 Thursday night in an OVC at Johnson Arena.
The win was MSU’s 23 straight win overall at home and 21st consecutive home victory in OVC games. Those streaks rank the Eagles (10-6; 3-2 OVC) fifth and seventh overall in the nation. Tennessee Tech (6-7, 2-2 OVC) lost to Morehead State for the seventh straight time.
Four of the five MSU starters scored in double digits, led by
Kenneth Faried’s 20 points and 13 rebounds. Faried got his recognition earlier in the evening when he was named to the Wooden Award mid-season watch list, but it was key second-half plays by the MSU bench that helped ignite a late run and push MSU into a double-digit lead.
Drew Kelly and
Lamont Austin each had a career-high seven points.
Arthur McMillan added six in the first half to help the Eagles recover from a quick start by the TTU offense.
“This was the best game for our bench,” Coach
Donnie Tyndall said. "Lamont Austin is getting better and better. I thought he played really well. And then Drew Kelly, this was his best game so far. He’s just five games into his career. We know Drew’s going to be a very good player. Arthur McMillan was good the first half. He really played well, but got in a little foul trouble, which limited his minutes.”
The TTU quick start resulted in Tech scoring the games’ first nine points, seven of those from Jud Dillard. But Morehead State countered, scoring the next 19 points, including six on three quick lay-ups by freshman Arthur McMillan. Hill added eight of those points, six on a pair of 3-pointers. Turning the first half into a series of runs, TTU then ran off eight points to pull within two at 19-17.
The runs ended there and the game turned into a more back and forth-affair. The Golden Eagles tied it at 21, but never regained the lead and MSU went into halftime with a 32-28 lead. Hill appeared to hit a buzzer-beating triple just as time expired, but the officials looked at the replay and determined Hill did not get the shot off before the horn sounded.
The second half picked up where the first half left off, with the teams trading points until Tech took the lead back on a triple by Chase Dunn with 13:41 left. After Faried swished a pair of free throws, Dunn hit another triple to give TTU a two-point advantage, MSU got the lead back a couple of buckets later and opened up a double-digit lead with a series of steals and fast-break dunks that led to an 11-0 run.
Terrance Hill had 13 points, 11 of which came in the first half.
Sam Goodman, who went 0-for-6 from the field, was nearly perfect at the line, sinking 11-of-12 to finish with 11 points.
Demonte Harper scored 10 points. Austin had four steals and Faried had a team-high three assists.
MSU was 25-of-30 at the line and 42.9 percent from the field, offsetting a 23.1 percent night from beyond the arc. Tennessee Tech matched the host Eagles at 42.9 percent from the field and 23.1 beyond the arc.
TTU was playing without the services of head coach Mike Sutton, who was ill. Associate head coach Steve Payne served as the Golden Eagles’ bench boss Thursday.
Dillard finished with 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Golden Eagles. Dunn scored 10 points and Zac Swansey dished out six assists.
“I thought that our team showed some resiliency,” Tyndall said. “I said this before OVC media day -- Tennessee Tech in my humble opinion would be the surprise team in the OVC. I think they’re deep one through 10.”
The Eagles host OVC foe Jacksonville State Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
