Moon leads Eagles past JSU to clinch OVC's No. 3 seed

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JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Junior guard Xavier Moon scored a career-high 25 points as Morehead State men's basketball capped off the regular season with an 82-71 win over Jacksonville State on Saturday evening at Pete Mathews Coliseum.

The win for the Eagles marks a season-high sixth in a row, the longest winning streak since the 2010-11 campaign. They improved their record to 18-11 overall and 11-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference. JSU falls to 8-23 on the year and 4-12 in OVC play. The loss marks the eighth in a row for the Gamecocks.

"Our guys are scrapping and they are doing whatever it takes to win games," said head coach Sean Woods. "Everything is coming together for us a little bit now, everyone is stepping up, and we're continuing to defend."

Morehead State led by as much as nine in the first half, but a 17-8 run over the last six minutes by JSU brought the game to a tie at 36-36 entering the half.

The two squads traded buckets early in the second stanza as the Eagles led 47-46 with 13 minutes left to play.

Back-to-back jumpers by Moon, a two-handed slam by junior forward Treshaad Williams, and a jumper by sophomore guard Miguel Dicent led Morehead State on a 12-4 run before the third media timeout.

JSU pulled within five with five minutes left but couldn't overcome the offensive production of Moon and Dicent, as the duo scored a combined 26 points in the second half.

Moon, the Goodwater, Ala. native, reached the 20-point plateau for a team-high fifth time this season. He shot 7-of-10 from the field, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 9-of-9 from the free throw line. He snatched a career-high seven rebounds.

Williams scored a career-high 15 points, while shooting 9-of-9 from the charity stripe, and grabbing six rebounds. Senior forward Lyonell Gaines scored a season-high 15 points for the second straight game and pulled down seven rebounds. Dicent scored all of his points in the deciding second half, finishing with 11 on 4-of-4 shooting in the half.

As a team, Morehead State shot 30-of-33 from the free throw line and they outrebounded the Gamecocks, 44-33. Both teams experienced foul trouble early and the Eagles' bench came through, outscoring JSU, 28-4.

Greg Tucker was the focal point of the Jacksonville State offense as he finished with a career-high 36 points, knocking down 7-of-11 from three-point territory.

Morehead State has clinched the No. 3 seed in the OVC Tournament and will play the winner of the No. 6 vs. No. 7 game on Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET in Nashville, Tenn.