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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Morehead State men’s basketball team held SIU Edwardsville scoreless for the first eight minutes of Saturday evening’s game at Johnson Arena and forced 15 first-half turnovers en route to a 76-61 Ohio Valley Conference win on Senior Night.
The Eagles improve to 17-14 on the season and 10-6 in OVC action with their fourth straight league victory, while the Cougars finish the campaign 9-17 overall and 6-10 in OVC play.
The win, coupled with losses by Southeast Missouri and Tennessee Tech on Saturday, gives Morehead State a No. 3 seed and first-round bye in next week’s conference tournament in Nashville.
The Eagles will face the winner of No. 6 Austin Peay vs. No. 7 Jacksonville State in a quarterfinal on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET. MSU went 2-0 against APSU this season and split a pair of games vs. JSU.
Morehead State, which entered the night leading the league in points allowed at just 61.5 per game, has now held 12 of its last 13 opponents below 70. In addition, the Eagles have yielded just 55.2 points per outing during their current four-game OVC winning streak.
Morehead State also improves to 61-11 (.847) at Johnson Arena over the past five years with the victory, including a 40-5 (.889) mark in conference home games.
The Cougars missed their first eight shots and were kept off the scoreboard until the 11:56 mark of the first half. SIUE tied the contest at nine with 8:43 to play before intermission, but Morehead State responded with a 17-5 run to open up a lead it never relinquished.
MSU sophomore Drew Kelly, who has now reached double figures in 12 of the last 13 contests, recorded a game-high 21 points on 5-of-8 from the floor and 11-of-14 from the free-throw line. He also collected a team-high six rebounds.
Kelly was joined in double figures by junior Milton Chavis, who came off the bench to post 10 points and five rebounds. Senior Lamont Austin added five boards and a team-best five assists in the win.
SIUE senior Corey Wickware and junior Mark Yelovich shared team-high honors with 18 points apiece in the defeat, while junior Derian Shaffer yanked down a game-best seven boards and junior Reggie Reed was credited with seven helpers.
Morehead State posted scoring advantages of 38-12 in the paint, 21-4 off turnovers, 14-0 on the fast break and 37-4 off the bench. The Eagles were also +13 (22-9) in the turnover department.
The Eagles knocked down 51 percent from the field (28-of-55) and 73 percent from the charity stripe (16-of-22). It was MSU’s fourth-best shooting percentage of the year and its 14th time reaching the 70-percent plateau from the foul line in the past 16 affairs.
Morehead State recognized its three seniors – Terrance Hill, Ty Proffitt and Austin – prior to the game. Hill has been part of more wins (86) than any other player in the 83-year history of Eagle basketball, while Proffitt has tallied 66 victories in three seasons and Austin 42 wins in two years.
Check MSUEagles.com throughout the upcoming week for OVC Tournament updates.
