Eagles close Nashville trip at Tennessee State on Saturday

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MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State men's basketball team remains in Nashville, Tenn. on Saturday night for the first of two match-ups with Tennessee State. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. ET.

The Eagles enter the contest at 12-10 overall and 6-4 in the OVC. Following the 73-67 loss at Belmont on Thursday, they are looking to avoid losing two straight. Morehead State has lost two or more games in a row just twice this season and both streaks came during a December stretch that saw the Eagles lose six of seven games.

After allowing Belmont to score 44 points and shoot 67 percent in the first half, the Eagles limited the Bruins to 29 second half points and 45 percent shooting in the second half. They held Belmont to 73 points, their fifth smallest point total of the season and second smallest point total in a win.

The Eagles are allowing 67.0 points per game, which ranks first in the OVC and just outside the top 50 in the country. Opponents are shooting just 43.4 percent, which ranks fourth in the OVC. After allowing 46 points in wins over Southern Miss, 61-46, and Saint Louis, 60-46, the Eagles were tied with Louisville for the nation's best scoring defense. In their 12 wins, they are allowing 59.3 points per game. They have allowed 76.2 points in their 10 losses.

After missing two games and playing limited minutes against EKU with a groin injury, Corban Collins returned to the starting lineup and scored a team-high 20 points in 29 minutes at Belmont. He leads MSU with 12.5 points, 3.3 assists and 31.5 minutes per game. His plus/minus is +100, which ranks second on the team. He has scored in double digits 13 times. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.6 ranks second in the OVC.

He had a career-high eight assists at ETSU and scored a career-high 28 points in the 84-82 overtime loss at EIU. He set a season-high with five made threes against the Panthers.

The Tigers are 15-7 and 6-3 in the OVC. After starting off league play at 5-0, they have lost three of their last four games. They fell at home to EKU on Thursday night, 97-81. They rank second to Morehead State in the OVC with a +4.3 rebounding margin.

Tennessee State is led by Keron Deshield, who averages a team-high 17.1 points and has a team-high 31 made threes. He also leads with 3.1 assists per game.

Morehead State owns a 35-30 all-time series advantage over Tennessee State. Last season, the Eagles swept the Tigers. The Eagles last lost to TSU in Nashville on Jan. 11, 2012. The two teams first met in 1980-81 as the Eagles won, 88-80.

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.