By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations
GAME NOTES (PDF) | STATS | WATCH | LISTEN
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- After a 10-day period with no game action, the Morehead State men's basketball team returns to competition Tuesday morning when nearby Kentucky Christian visits Johnson Arena. The Education Day game is set to tip off at 11 a.m. ET.
More than 2,500 local elementary and middle-school age children are expected to attend. The game can be seen live on the OVC Digital Network and heard live on WIVY-96.3 FM and MSUEagles.com.
The Eagles (2-6) will look to gain some momentum heading into Christmas. With just three more games before the start of Ohio Valley Conference play, MSU will look to improve on consistency and ball control.
"If I had to pick one area where we need the most improvement, it's taking care of the ball," said head coach
Preston Spradlin. "We are making too many turnovers, but I know we have a young team that is still learning to play together. We are working very hard to get ourselves ready for OVC play."
The Kentucky Christian Knights, an NAIA Division II member-team, is 8-8 in 2017-18 under first-year head coach Akeem Scott. Hayden Dunn averages 27 points per game for a team that scores 95 points per outing on average.
GAME NOTES
THE KENTUCKY CHRISTIAN SERIES
Morehead State owns an 8-0 lead in the all-time series with Kentucky Christian. MSU won 106-41 last season and 121-49 in 2014-15. The two meetings then have resulted in a 113.5-45.0 average margin of victory for the Eagles.
NON D1 STREAK
Morehead State has won 51 consecutive games against non-NCAA Division I opponents. The last setback to a non-D1 foe was exactly 25 years ago on Dec. 12, a 72-64 loss to Union (Ky.) in 1992-93.
ALL INCLUDED
Morehead State ranks tied for second in the nation in percentage of players hitting or attempting a three-pointer compared to total roster size. Ten of the Eagles' 13 active players have hit at least one three-pointer, giving them a 92.3 percent rate in that category.
A DJIMON IN THE ROUGH
Sophomore guard
Djimon Henson has reached double figures in the scoring column in seven straight
games now and has led the Eagles in scoring in three of the last four
games. Just in the last four
games, Henson shot 61 percent (25-41) from the field.
REBOUND U.The Morehead State men have either led the Ohio Valley Conference or ranked second in rebounding margin now in 11 consecutive seasons, and that trend is nearly holding true again this season after the Eagles out-boarded Alice Lloyd 62-18. They are currently third in the conference at plus-5.3
IT'S GOOD TO BE KING
Junior forward
Londell King now has two career double-doubles after a 10-point, 12-rebound performance at Central Arkansas. He also scored 10 and secured 10 boards versus Marshall. Despite playing only 13.4 minutes per contest, King leads the Eagles with 6.7 rebounds per
game.
RETURN TO SENDER!Morehead State is averaging 4.3 blocked shots per outing, and that ranks second among all OVC schools so far in 2017-18. The Eagles have notched six or more blocks three times.
DISHING DIMES
Junior guard
A.J. Hicks handed out a career-best seven assists in the Eagles' 86-83 win over Marshall on Nov. 16. Hicks leads Morehead State with 26 assists in 2017-18.
MALEK IS STARTING TO PEAKFreshman forward
Malek Green is playing well beyond his years, averaging 9.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per
game while shooting 58 percent from the field. Green erupted for a career-best 16 points off the bench against Central Arkansas and now has three double-figure scoring efforts. He also secured a career-best nine rebounds at Northern Kentucky.
HARRIS HEATS BACK UPPreseason All-OVC (College Sports Madness) pick
Lamontray Harris has had a bit of roller coaster season so far, but he came off the bench for his third career double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) versus Alice Lloyd.
HANGIN' WITH MR. COOPERFreshman De'von Cooper has scored seven points in each of his last two games. His career high of eight markers came in the second game of the season at Lipscomb.
WAITING IN THE WINGS
Morehead State has added an early signee for the 2018-19 season in high school point guard Tada (TAY-da) Stricklen. Stricklen, who is a senior this season at Corinth (Miss.) High School, led his team to a 4A state championship as a sophomore. As a junior, Stricklen averaged 20.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
INSIDE MOREHEAD STATE BASKETBALL
Inside Morehead State Basketball, a 30-minute TV program airs each Sunday. The show, hosted and produced by David Patrick, will air at 1 p.m. ET on DIRECTV channel 14, DISH Network channel 28 and Spectrum Cable channel 99 (or Spectrum channel 5 in Lexington). The show features commentary and a look back at previous
games with head coach
Preston Spradlin, along with fun features highlighting Morehead State's student-athletes and coaching staff.
