Men's Hoops Uses Big Scoring Flurries to Pull Away and Defeat Spalding (Ky.) 92-44

BOX SCORE

MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Morehead State men's basketball team used an 18-2 first-half run and a 20-2 scoring spurt in the final half to distance itself and defeat visiting Spalding (Ky.) 92-44 Thursday at Johnson Arena.
 
Morehead State improved to 2-0, starting the season with two straight wins for the first time since 2016-17.
 
Five players scored in double figures for the host Eagles, led by sophomore guard Malik Riddle's 15. Junior guard Justin Thomas stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, eight assists, six steals and six rebounds, and the Eagles canned 11 of 17 three-pointers.
 
Freshman forward Tyzhaun Claude pulled down 11 rebounds for the second consecutive game to start his college career.
 
MSU is off for the week before traveling to Presbyterian on Nov. 14 for a 7 p.m. ET matchup with the Blue Hose.
 
KEY STATS

- Morehead State shot 56 percent (37-of-66) for the game, including 61 percent (20-of-33) in the final half.
- Freshman guard Ta'lon Cooper registered 12 points, while senior guards Jordan Walker and Djimon Henson each scored 10.
- MSU handed out 22 assists and swiped 13 steals while forcing 24 Spalding turnovers.
- The Eagles held a 50-16 advantage in points scored in the paint.
- MSU also held a 41-25 rebounding edge.
- The Eagle bench contributed 44 points tonight after scoring 31 in the season opener against Samford.
- MSU led for 39:49 of the contest.
 
KEY MOMENTS
 
- Morehead State built a 16-8 lead with 11:54 left in the first half on the strength of five straight turnovers in a three-minute span by the Golden Eagles.
- Justin Thomas got a steal and a breakaway layup (plus the foul) at the 10:00 minute mark. He missed the free throw, but an offensive rebound led to a James Baker jumper.
- The 18-2 run pushed the Eagles out to a 25-8 advantage with 8:10 left in the half.
- Leading 25-15, Morehead State used a 10-0 run to push out to a 35-15 cushion with less than four minutes in the first period.
- The home team led 41-22 at the halftime break.
 - A 15-2 second half run propelled the Eagles to a 56-27 advantage at the 14:14 mark of the final half.
- A breakaway slam down by Malik Riddle sent the lead all the way to 40 (75-35) with 7:35 remaining.
 
 
QUOTING COACH SPRADLIN
 
"I thought we did a much better job in the second half. We ran our offense and had some tempo. We got some easy looks and easy baskets, and it gave us an opportunity to work on our zone defense. We accomplished what we needed to here tonight."
 
"I thought Justin Thomas was much better tonight. He ran our offense and made the right decisions and got us into the right places. I challenged him after the other night, and he responded well."
 
"It feels good to be 2-0. Not many teams in the country can say that right now."