Men's Hoops Aims for 46th Straight Win Over NAIA Opponents

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Morehead State men's basketball team will shoot for its 46th straight win over National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics opponents on Saturday when it hosts Kentucky Christian.  Tip-off from Johnson Arena is set for 2 p.m. ET.  The MSU women and Lipscomb will follow at approximately 4:15.

The Eagles, who posted a 77-68 win at Marshall on Wednesday, are 3-4 overall and 1-0 at home.  The Knights, who dropped a 92-64 decision to Asbury (Ky.) last Saturday, are 1-6 overall and 1-3 on the road.  MSU has won all six previous meetings against KCU.  The Eagles last defeated the Knights, 99-39, on Dec. 22, 2008.

The most-recent NAIA team to top Morehead State in regular-season play was Union (Ky.) on Dec. 12, 1992.  The 45-game winning streak against NAIA foes includes an 87-79 victory over Cincinnati Christian on Nov. 17.  MSU defeated Mid-Continent (Ky.) and Asbury (Ky.) last season by a combined 81 points or 40.5 average.

The doubleheader, which is presented by Cracker Barrel, will include several in-game promotions.  Adult tickets begin at just $8, while tickets for children 12-and-under start at $3.  Parking is only $5 per vehicle.  Click here to purchase tickets on-line.


Ways to follow the game:

LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO (CPU) | LIVE AUDIO (mobile) | LIVE STATS | TWITTER

The game will be webcast live and free of charge on OVCDigitalNetwork.com.  The video production, which is coordinated by Eagle Vision, will include multiple cameras, replays, graphics and audio.  The contest will also be broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network, with Chuck Mraz calling the play-by-play and Jason Blanton serving as the analyst.  The radio network includes WIVY-96.3 FM in Morehead, WCBJ-103.7 in Campton, WLGC-1520 AM in Ashland/Greenup, MSUEagles.com (computers), m.Morehead.EZStream.com (mobile devices) and the Eagle Empire app.


Releases and pre-game information:

MOREHEAD STATE | KENTUCKY CHRISTIAN | OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE


Ten notes heading into the contest:
 
CLIMBING THE SCORING LIST
Senior Angelo Warner poured in a game-high 23 points in Wednesday's victory at Marshall.  The effort was his 65th in double figures and 14th of 20+ at Morehead State.  The guard now has 1,233 points as an Eagle, which ranks 18th in school history.

HANDING OUT THE ASSISTS
Senior Kareem Storey leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 6.0 assists per game.  The guard also places fifth in the league with a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.  He has reached the five-assist plateau in 20 of 39 games at Morehead State.

A TALENTED FRESHMAN
Freshman Marquel Willis knocked down both three-point attempts en route to 11 points in Wednesday's win at Marshall.  It was his second performance of 10+ points this season.  The guard/forward is averaging 6.3 points per tilt.

HEALTHY AND PERFORMING
Senior Karam Mashour is averaging 10.3 points and 7.3 rebounds over his last three contests.  The forward averaged 17.3 points and 19.8 boards in four exhibition contests, including a three-game foreign trip to the Bahamas.  He sat out in 2012-13 as a transfer and only played five minutes in 2013-14 due to injury.

LET'S GET THIS CORRECTED
Morehead State has been whistled for an Ohio Valley Conference-high 169 fouls through seven contests (24.1 pg), while its opponents have been tagged just 130 times (18.6 pg).  The difference has led to 57 more free-throw attempts for MSU's foes.

A GRUELING BEGINNING
Morehead State played six of its first seven contests away from Johnson Arena this year.  The Eagles visited UNLV, Cincinnati, Louisiana Tech and Marshall during the stretch.  MSU went 9-7 on the road last season and 2-2 at neutral sites.

THE NBA GUYS DON'T DO THIS
Morehead State had five games in seven days last week.  The Eagles hosted Cincinnati Christian on Monday and stopped at Cincinnati on Wednesday.  The weekend slate included Louisiana Tech, Presbyterian and American, all at LTU.

OVC AND NCAA HISTORY
Morehead State owns 13 Ohio Valley Conference championships, including nine regular-season crowns (last in 2003) and four tournament titles (last in 2011).  MSU has also made has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances (last in 2011).

ON TO THE POSTSEASON
Morehead State has made nine postseason appearances.  The Eagles have advanced beyond the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in four of the past six seasons.  MSU participated in the College Basketball Invitational in 2010 and again in 2014.

20 WINS = ELITE COMPANY
Morehead State, which finished 20-14 overall in 2013-14, has reached the 20-win plateau four times in the past six seasons.  The Eagles had previously secured 20 victories just twice in 79 campaigns.  MSU improved by five wins from 2012-13 to last year.