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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The upset-minded Morehead State men’s basketball team led by nine points with 13 minutes to play on Wednesday night, but #10/12 Murray State finished the game on a 29-14 run to escape with a 66-60 victory before a crowd of 6,036 at Johnson Arena.
The Racers, who are the Ohio Valley Conference’s first nationally-ranked team since 1997-98, improve to 19-0 overall and 7-0 in conference action. The Eagles, who began the day with a 57-9 home record over the past five years, fall to 9-11 on the campaign and 3-4 in league play.
The contest featured the first nationally-ranked men’s basketball team to ever play at Johnson Arena, which hosted its first game on Dec. 3, 1981. Morehead State had not previously hosted a top 25 foe since #9 Western Kentucky came to town on Feb. 20, 1971.
Murray State and Syracuse, both 19-0, continue to be the nation’s only undefeated teams at the Division I level. The Racers also continue to build on their longest winning streak in school history.
“Give Murray State a lot of credit,” Morehead State Head Coach Donnie Tyndall said. “They have experienced guards and several great players. They made some timely threes tonight when we missed defensive assignments in our match-up zone.”
Morehead State jumped out to a 15-4 advantage less than nine minutes into the affair. The lead was pushed to double figures on four more occasions before halftime.
The Eagles shot 52 percent (11-of-21) from the field and 77 percent (10-of-13) from the free-throw line over the first 20 minutes en route to a 37-31 upper hand at the break.
Outside of 2-0, Murray State didn’t lead until the 7:41 mark of the second half. The Racers used a 10-0 spurt midway through the final period to get back in the mix. The lead changed hands several times over the next few minutes until the visitors pulled away for good in the final four minutes.
Sophomore Drew Kelly led Morehead State with 20 points, six rebounds and two blocks before fouling out with 3:03 to play. He drilled 6-of-6 from both the field and free-throw line.
Senior Lamont Austin added 11 points, four steals and three rebounds for the Eagles, while freshman Angelo Warner contributed 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.
“Drew was fantastic -- and he’s only a sophomore,” Tyndall added. “I don’t think Murray State had anyone who could guard him tonight. They don’t play zone, so we went to him in the post. He also had a couple of pick-and-pop threes. It was great to see him play with confidence in a big game.”
Junior Isaiah Canaan, who played the entire game, paced Murray State with 20 points and three assists. He connected on 4-of-10 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Senior Donte Poole added 15 points on 8-of-10 from the foul line plus five rebounds for the Racers, while senior Jewuan Long contributed 11 points on 5-of-10 from the field.
Morehead State posted a 30-28 rebounding advantage to continue its recent dominance in that area, but committed 19 turnovers which led to 23 points for Murray State.
Murray State finished at 68 percent (23-of-34) from the free-throw line as a result of 27 Morehead State fouls. The Racers were whistled for 21 infractions, which led to the Eagles shooting 73 percent (16-of-22) from the foul line
Morehead State played down the stretch without Kelly, Austin and junior Kahlil Owens, who all fouled out in the second half.
“I’m still proud of my team,” Tyndall added. “I thought our kids played extremely hard for 40 minutes tonight. We put Murray State at the foul line 34 times, which really hurt. If we put them at the foul line 24 times and have our key guys on the floor late in the game, maybe it’s a different story.”
Wednesday’s contest featured not only a season-best crowd, but attracted over 50 media members.
Morehead State wraps up its three-game homestand on Saturday when UT Martin visits at 7 p.m. ET.
