BOX SCORE
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State men's basketball utilized balanced scoring and a hard-nosed defensive presence to setback Maryland Eastern Shore, 76-53 Saturday night at Johnson Arena.
With tonight's victory, MSU advances to 4-0 for the first time since 1980-81.
Morehead State took a 46-25 lead into the halftime intermission, leading by as many as 31 late in the second half.
Junior forward
James Baker paced the Eagles with 14 points, connecting on 7-of-13 from the field.
Nearly approaching double-double territory for the first-ever time was senior guard
Djimon Henson, chipping in 13 points. He led the Eagles in this contest with a career-high nine rebounds. MSU held the rebounding advantage, 42-29.
Junior floor-general
Justin Thomas continued his stat sheet-stuffing ways, logging 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and four steals.
Morehead State begins a four-game road trip next week, continuing action in the Hall of Fame Classic. The Eagles face Missouri at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday in Columbia, Mo.
KEY MOMENTS
- Trailing 16-15 halfway through the first half, freshman wing Julius Dixon nailed a triple from the top of the key that brought the Eagles back in front by two. From there, MSU outscored UMES 29-5 over the next 7:42 of the period, placing the home team up 44-21.
- In the final six minutes of the first half, Morehead State kept Eastern Shore from tabbing a single field goal.
- Unanswered buckets by senior Jordan Walker, sophomore LJ Bryan, Henson, and Baker brought the Eagle lead to its widest margin of the evening, with 6:14 left, at 31, 68-37.
KEY STATS
- MSU was 31-of-60 from the field.
- The Eagles' defense gave up only 37 percent shooting for the game (20-of-54), 29 percent from 3-point range (8-for-28), and forced the Hawks into 20 turnovers.
- Morehead State scored 50 of its 76 points in the paint.
- MSU pick-pocketed the Hawks nine times, logging nine steals for the second straight game.
- Five Eagles finished in double figures: Baker's 14, Henson's 13, and 10 markers each from Thomas, Walker, and freshman Ta'lon Cooper. Tonight marks the 58th career double-figure game for Walker.
QUOTING COACH SPRADLIN
"It was a heck of a defensive effort again tonight. We shared the ball and were able to get five guys into double figures again. I thought Djimon was unbelievable tonight; he really set the tone for us. He got on the glass and we started to convert, started to really open the game up late in the first half."
"This is a fun group. They are fun to coach, and I've got a lot of trust they are going to go out and execute what we plan for them."
