Eagles strive for three straight wins on the road at SIUE

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MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State men's basketball team looks to make it three straight wins when they travel to SIU Edwardsville on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET.

After falling below .500 at 6-7 for the first time all season following the loss at Murray State, the Eagles have won two straight to get back over the .500-mark at 8-7. Five of their seven losses are by less than six points.

A season ago, the Eagles were above .500 at just one point in the season, at 17-16, following their win over UT Martin in second round of the OVC Tournament.

In the win over UT Martin, junior forward Ronnye Beamon and freshman guard Lamontray Harris came off of the bench to play key roles. Beamon played a career-high 21 minutes, scoring nine points, including a clutch three-pointer in the closing minutes, and had six rebounds. Harris played 22 minutes, just off of his career-high, and had career-highs with 11 points and six rebounds. Harris has set career-highs in points in back-to-back games after scoring eight points against SEMO.

Senior Brent Arrington scored a season-high 21 points in the win over SEMO and had 12 points, seven rebounds, and a career-high seven assists in the win over UT Martin.

Following a 0-point performance at Indiana, Arrington averaged a season-low 6.9 points-per-game. Since then, he has scored in double figures in seven of eight games and has his average up to 9.7 points-per-game. In OVC play, he is averaging a team-high 15.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. After shooting 32 percent in non-conference games, he is shooting 52 percent in league play.

The Eagles are allowing 64.4 points per game, which ranks first in the OVC and 35th in the country. After allowing 46 points in wins over Southern Miss, 61-46, and Saint Louis, 60-46, the Eagles were tied for the nation's best scoring defense. In their eight wins, they are allowing 54.9 points. They have allowed 75.3 points in their seven losses.

The Cougars enter Thursday's contest with a 3-13 record and they are 0-4 in OVC play. Their wins are against Arkansas State in their opener, 79-70, at Southern Illinois, 76-74, and versus Portland State, 74-64. They have two common opponents with Morehead State, and lost at home to Saint Louis, 70-60, and at home to Green Bay, 87-69. The Cougars are shooting just 39 percent on the year.

They are led by junior guard Burak Eslik, who averages 12.8 points, and freshman guard Carlos Anderson, who averages 10.2 points. They rank first and second on the team in three-point makes.

Morehead State owns a 6-1 series advantage against SIUE. Their lone loss was a 61-53 defeat in Edwardsville on Feb. 2, 2012. The Eagles are 4-0 at home, 2-1 at SIUE, and have won the last four games. Last season, they beat SIUE, 91-63, at home.

The contest will air live on the OVC Digital Network. It will also be broadcast on the Eagle Sports Radio Network with Chuck Mraz and Jason Blanton calling all of the action. The radio network includes WIVY-96.3 FM and several affiliates throughout eastern Kentucky. A live audio stream can be found on MSUEagles.com and the Eagle Empire app.