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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- In college athletics, it’s not too common for an individual to set a school record without even playing in the game. But that’s exactly what Terrance Hill did on Thursday evening at Johnson Arena as the Morehead State men’s basketball team posted a 75-39 rout of Eastern Illinois.
Hill, who averaged a team-best 13.3 points before suffering a season-ending knee injury on Dec. 31, watched from the sidelines as Morehead State tallied its 85th win in the past four seasons. No other player has been associated with that number of victories in the 83-year history of Eagle basketball.
“I will remember this night for the rest of my life,” Hill said after Morehead State’s largest Division I win since Jan. 14, 2010. “I want to thank my coaches and teammates for being such a big part of this.”
In Hill’s time at Morehead State, the Eagles have won 63 percent of their games overall, 71 percent of their Ohio Valley Conference affairs and 86 percent of their contests at Johnson Arena.
“Terrance has meant so much to this basketball program,” Morehead State Head Coach Donnie Tyndall said. “He would’ve easily been a 1,000-point scorer (without the season-ending injury), and in my opinion, was certainly on his way to being an all-conference guard this season.”
Hill, a 6-foot-1 senior from Columbus, Ga., has been part of two OVC Tournament championship teams and made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament. His most memorable performance was undoubtedly a then-career high 23 points in MSU’s upset of Louisville last March.
“Terrance is a winner,” Tyndall said. “With everything he’s accomplished athletically, I’m most proud of the fact that he’s going to graduate on time in May. We hope Terrance has a chance to play professional basketball, but he has a bright future in whatever he ends up doing after college.”
Hill’s pursuit of the all-time wins record seemed to be more than enough motivation in Morehead State’s second-to-last regular-season game. The Eagles used a 15-0 run midway through the first half to open up a 22-6 advantage with 6:51 left before intermission.
The margin grew to 37-11 by halftime and Morehead State never looked back. The points allowed before the break were the fewest for the Eagles in any half this season.
MSU’s biggest lead, 39 points, came with 2:24 remaining in the second half.
Junior Marsell Holden knocked down 5-of-10 from the three-point line to finish with a game-high 17 points in just 24 minutes off the bench. He was also credited with five rebounds and three steals.
Freshman Will Bailey, who entered the night averaging less than two points per outing, added a career-high 12 to help the Morehead State bench register a 44-8 upper hand over the EIU reserves.
Senior Ty Proffitt (13) and sophomore Drew Kelly (10), starters who both played 24 minutes, joined Holden and Bailey in double figures, while freshman Angelo Warner yanked down a career-best 13 rebounds and senior Lamont Austin matched a career-high with six assists.
Morehead State shot 53 percent overall (26-of-49), including 10-of-20 from long range. Eastern Illinois was limited to 34 percent from the field (16-of-47), including 0-of-17 from beyond the arc.
The Eagles also managed a 40-20 rebounding edge and collected a season-high 21 assists.
Morehead State improves to 16-14 overall, 9-6 in the OVC and moves into a three-way tie for third place in the conference standings. The Eagles wrap up their regular season on Saturday when SIU Edwardsville visits at 7:30 p.m. ET. Hill, Proffitt and Austin will all be recognized prior to the game as part of Senior Night.
The top four seeds will receive a bye in the first round of the 2012 OVC Tournament, which begins Feb. 29 at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. The eight-team league tournament includes games next Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The winner receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
