Men's Hoops Gives OVC Leader APSU All It Can Handle Before Falling

BOX SCORE

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Morehead State men's basketball was tied with Ohio Valley Conference co-leader Austin Peay midway through the second half, but a surge in the final nine minutes by the host Govs pushed them past the Eagles 67-58 at the Dunn Center Thursday night.

The Eagles (13-17/7-10 OVC) now turn their attention toward the regular season finale at Eastern Kentucky Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. A win seals MSU's berth in the OVC Tournament in Evansville, Ind., next week. A loss and MSU can still grab a tournament spot but would need Tennessee Tech to lose at Jacksonville State. The Govs moved to 20-10 and 14-3 in the league.

Freshman forward Tyzhaun Claude registered his sixth double-figure scoring game in the last seven with a team-high 15 points. He hit seven of his eight shots, and the OVC's top freshman rebounder grabbed a team-best nine tonight.

The league's Preseason Player of the Year Terry Taylor led APSU with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

KEY MOMENTS

- Junior guard Juice Thomas' layup with 10:55 left in the first half sparked the Eagles to their largest first half lead at 19-12.
- However, a 17-4 run over the next six minutes - capped by Taylor's bucket at 4:42 - pushed the Govs back out in front 29-23.
- Junior forward James Baker nailed a three-pointer with 1:24 left in the half to make a 31-28 APSU lead. The Govs went on to lead 35-28 at the break.
- With 10:35 left in the contest, Claude hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 47-all. Jordyn Adams' field goal minutes later gave the Govs the lead they never surrendered again.

KEY STATS

- MSU shot 43 percent (25-of-58) but hit just six of its 25 three-pointers.
- The Eagles notched 36 points in the paint but gave up 42 to the Govs.
- Senior guard Jordan Walker scored 11 points and moved all the way to No. 12 on Morehead State's career scoring list now with 1,454 points.
- Baker netted 12 points - all in the first half - for his third straight double figure game.