Eagles welcome in TSU on Thursday for Senior Night

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MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State men's basketball team will host Tennessee State on Senior Night this Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET.

Recognized before the game will be the four seniors - guard Brent Arrington, forward Anthony Elechi, forward Lyonell Gaines, and guard Jared Ravenscraft.

The Eagles enter the contest at 15-11 overall and 8-5 in the OVC after winning three straight. It marks their third three-game winning streak of the season.

For the first time this season, Morehead State eclipsed the 100-point mark in their 105-66 win over St. Catharine. It marked the most points in a game for MSU since they downed Kentucky Christian, 125-49, on Nov. 29, 2014. They finished with 26 assists on 36 made field goals and tied a season-high with 15 steals. Ravenscraft set career highs with 12 points, five assists, four rebounds, and four steals.

Arrington enters Thursday's contest as Morehead State's newest member of the 1,000-point club. Arrington ignited the second half surge in the win over Belmont as 19 of his 24 points came in the second stanza. His 24 points matched a career-high. He shot 9-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-5 from three-point range, as he played the majority of the second half in foul trouble.

The Baltimore, Md. native now has 1,016 career points at Morehead State and is the school's 32nd member of the 1,000-point club. He's tied for second on the team with 9.6 points per game and leads the team with 83 assists (3.2 per game) and 42 steals (1.6 per game).

Junior forward DeJuan "Rico" Marrero was named OVC Newcomer of the Week and CSM OVC Player of the Week for his performances against EKU and Belmont. He averaged 17.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game while hitting 59 percent (13-of-22) from the field. Marrero had 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal against EKU. He followed that with his sixth double-double of the year against Belmont, scoring a season-best 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to go along with two steals and two assists. Marrero hit 7-of-10 free throws in the victory over Belmont, including two with 1:20 to play (after grabbing an offensive rebound) to give his team a two-point lead.

He leads the team and ranks fifth in the OVC with 7.7 rebounds and he ranks fourth in OVC with 2.9 offensive rebounds per game. In 17 of 26 games, he has led the Eagles in rebounds.

In the first matchup between Tennessee State and Morehead State in Nashville, the Eagles trailed by as much as 12, but made a furious rally late in the game. Trailing 70-60 with just 2:04 to play, they finished the game on a 16-7 run, with junior Xavier Moon hitting three three-point baskets in the final 29 seconds.

The Eagles pulled within two at 75-73 with five seconds remaining, before Tahjere McCall was fouled on the inbounds play. He made both free throws to seal the victory and finished with a game-high 23 points, hitting 15-of-16 from the free throw line.

Prior to the late rally, MSU was shooting just 3-of-18 from the three point line. They hit their last four to finish 7-of-22 from deep.

Last season, Morehead State won both regular season contests against the Tigers. The Eagles have not lost to TSU at home since they fell, 70-68, on Feb. 27, 2014. The last time MSU fell twice to Tennessee State in the same season was 2011-12, when they fell 77-72 at TSU and then 59-52 in the semifinals of the OVC Tournament.

The game will air on the OVC Digital Network and will 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.