Men's Basketball Welcomes OVC Leader Eastern Illinois

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Morehead State men's basketball team wraps up a two-game homestand on Saturday when it entertains Ohio Valley Conference leader Eastern Illinois.  Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. ET.  The Eagles and Panthers will follow in women's basketball at approximately 4:15 p.m.

The Eagles tallied a 91-63 victory over SIU Edwardsville on Thursday, while the Panthers posted their eighth straight win the same night in a 72-65 final at Eastern Kentucky.  MSU is 7-12 overall, 2-2 in league action and 3-4 at home.  EIU is 11-6 overall, 5-0 in conference play and 4-4 on the road.

Eastern Illinois owns a 22-13 advantage in the all-time men's basketball series, but Morehead State has won the last five meetings.  Senior Kareem Storey made 12-of-12 from the free-throw line last year at Lantz Arena to help the Eagles score an 85-77 victory over the Panthers.

The doubleheader, which is presented by Papa John's Pizza, 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 FM 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 | EASTERN ILLINOIS | OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE


Ten notes heading into the contest:

A 28-POINT OVC VICTORY
Morehead State recorded a 91-63 Ohio Valley Conference victory over SIU Edwardsville on Thursday.  The 28-point win was Morehead State's largest in 36 league games under Head Coach Sean Woods.  The Eagles improved to 7-12 overall and 2-2 in OVC action.

THE DOUBLE-DOUBLE MAN
Senior Karam Mashour posted his second Division I double-double with a career-high 22 points and 11 rebounds versus SIU Edwardsville.  The forward notched his first career double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds on Jan. 8 at Southeast Missouri.

BURNING UP THE NETS
Morehead State made its first 12 field-goal attempts versus SIU Edwardsville.  The Eagles did not miss from the field until 10:02 was left in the first half.  MSU posted a 78-34 scoring advantage from the floor, but SIUE managed a 29-13 edge from the foul line.

LOOKING AT SEASON BESTS
Morehead State collected 22 assists on Thursday, while committing just 12 turnovers.  The assists total was MSU's most against a 2014-15 Division I opponent.  The Eagles also recorded a season-best 10 blocked shots and tied a season high with 10 three-pointers.

REBOUNDING IS WHAT WE DO
Morehead State has led the Ohio Valley Conference in rebounding margin six straight seasons (2008-14), paced the league in rebounds five of the last six years and had the conference's top individual four of the past six seasons.  MSU ranks second in the OVC in both rebounding margin (+4.4) and boards per game (36.8).

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
Morehead State limited itself to just eight turnovers on Jan. 10 at UT Martin.  The Eagles had previously committed double-figure miscues in 16 consecutive games.  MSU's best 2014-15 performance was six turnovers in the season opener at UNLV.

KNOCKING DOWN THE FREEBIES
Morehead State converted on 92 percent (11-of-12) of its free-throw attempts at UT Martin.  The effort was its second best of the campaign.  The Eagles drilled all 10 of their charity tosses on Nov. 21 at Louisiana Tech, but still suffered a 73-64 setback.

WHEN I PASS, YOU SHOULD SCORE
Kareem Storey places third in the Ohio Valley Conference with 4.8 assists per contest and seventh with 1.8 assists-per-turnover.  The guard has registered five assists in 23 of 48 games at Morehead State.  He is averaging 7.9 points this season on 83 percent (33-of-40) from the foul line.

THE ONLY FOURTH-YEAR PLAYER
Senior Angelo Warner, the only fourth-year player at Morehead State, has tallied 1,363 points (11.9 pg) and 3,177 minutes (27.6 pg) in 115 collegiate games.  The guard has reached 10 points 73 times and 20 points on 15 occasions.  He needs more 20 points to move into 16th in school history.

A STREAK TO BE PROUD OF
Morehead State has finished Ohio Valley Conference play .500-or-better in each of the last seven seasons.  MSU's last sub-.500 OVC campaign came in 2006-07.  The Eagles own a 20-16 record (.556) in league contests under Head Coach Sean Woods.