NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Morehead State's men's basketball team hung with OVC power Belmont for a majority of the night Saturday, but a late surge by the home team resulted in a 77-59 defeat for the Eagles at the Curb Event Center.
 
The Eagles, who led much of the first half and only trailed by two with 7:33 to play, slipped to 9-10 overall and evened their OVC mark at 3-3.
 
Junior forward James Baker erupted for his second straight game leading the team in scoring, with 16 points. He also led the squad with seven rebounds and had two blocked shots.
 
Senior guard Djimon Henson hit Morehead State's only three three-pointers on the court and had 14 points, while fellow senior Jordan Walker registered double figures for the 67^th time in his career with 10.
 
MSU shot 49 percent in the first half but cooled off to only 10-for-32 (32 percent in the final 20 minutes) as Belmont outpaced the visitors 42-26 in that half.
 
The Eagles continue their four-game road tour through the league on Thursday when they visit Tennessee Tech, a team they defeated 83-72 earlier this month.
 
KEY MOMENTS
 
- Belmont led 17-7 with 12:26 left in the first half, its largest lead of the first period.
- Freshman guard Ta'lon Cooper's layup with 12:16 left in the half sparked a 10-0 run. Baker's layup at the 10:12 mark tied the game at 17-all.
- Baker gave the Eagles their first advantage (21-19) with 8:38 remaining in the stanza, then scored another bucket just 34 seconds later.
- The Eagles led 29-23 following another Baker bucket with 4:12 in the half, but Belmont finished on a 12-4 run to eek out a 35-33 halftime edge.
- After the Bruins pulled out ahead 47-41 with 11:48 left, MSU rallied back. Henson's three-ball with 10:22 left tied the game at 49-all.
- Belmont used a 12-2 run over the next five minutes to pull ahead 61-51 before an MSU timeout. From the 10:22 mark to the 5:21 mark, the Eagles did not hit a field goal.
 
KEY STATS
 
- MSU was only able to bury three of its 16 three-point attempts.
- The Eagles, who lead the conference in fewest turnovers per game, had their average of just 12 and forced 14 Belmont mistakes.
- MSU scored 40 of its 59 points in the paint.
- Freshman Tyzhaun Claude came up with six rebounds.
- Nick Musyznski led Belmont with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while point guard Grayson Murphy had a double-double too with 10 points and 10 boards.
 
QUOTING COACH SPRADLIN
 
"It was a two-point game with seven minutes to go. We didn't really rebound the ball like we needed to in the second half. The big thing though was the transition points from Belmont. They are such a good transition team. We didn't sprint back and communicate to get out to the shooters like we needed to."
 
"It was great to see James have another nice game. He always gives his teammates credit for helping him get out of a slump. James did a great job on both ends of the floor."