Men's Basketball Looks to Continue Riding Wave of Success when Austin Peay Visits Saturday

By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations

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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The push toward an Ohio Valley Conference title continues Saturday for the Morehead State men's basketball team. Austin Peay will invade Johnson Arena looking to snap the Eagles' 10-game winning streak. Tip-off time for the solo game is at 2 p.m. ET.

Morehead State (14-6/11-2 OVC) has not lost since Dec. 21, 2020 at Clemson. The 10-game winning streak is the third longest in program history, trailing only the 1983-84 team's record 12 game streak and the 2009-10 OVC champion team's 11 game success string. MSU has also climbed into second place in the OVC standings behind Belmont.

The Govs (11-6/7-4 OVC) enter the contest with a three-game winning streak, including halting Eastern Kentucky's nine-game success string Thursday night in Richmond.

The game will air live on ESPN+ as well as MSUEagles.com (WIVY-96.3 FM audio).

LAST TIME AGAINST AUSTIN PEAY (Full Recap | Box Score)
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 Feb. 27, 2020. 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.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Record vs. Austin Peay: 56-56

First Meeting: Jan. 11, 1964 (MOR won 85-76)

Streak: AP, 5 games

Record in Clarksville: 17-38

Record in Morehead: 36-17

Last 5 Meetings

1/27/18 Clarksville, Tenn. L 92-76

1/5/19 Clarksville, Tenn. L 81-67

2/16/19 MOREHEAD, KY. L 73-70

3/7/19 Evansville, Ind. L 95-81

2/27/20 Clarksville, Tenn. L 67-58

NOTABLE

• After winning eight of nine in the series from 2001-17, the Eagles have seen the Governors take the triumph the last five meetings. The series is tied overall, however, at 56 games apiece.

• Morehead State's 66-56 win over Murray State Thursday marked the first sweep of the Racers' program since 2002-03. It's been a year of firsts as well as the Eagles also swept the road trip to Eastern Illinois and Southeast Missouri for the first time ever.

• Morehead State is ranked 25th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. It's the first time since 2010-11 the Eagles have been ranked in this poll.

• The Eagles have held four opponents - Murray State (23), UT Martin (22), Southeast Missouri (19) and Jacksonville State (26) - to their lowest point totals for a half in a game. And MSU has limited five foes - Eastern Kentucky (62), Tennessee Tech (54), SEMO (50), JSU (55) and UTM (44) - to their lowest overall point totals in a league game.

• Freshman forward Johni Broome was named OVC Freshman of the Week for the fifth time this season. Broome's five awards trails only Ricky Minard (2000-01) and Erik Brown (1998-99) for the program record for Freshman of the Week Awards.

• Points in the paint have been consistent for the Eagles. MSU has scored 30 or more points in the paint in seven straight games and averages 31.5 for the season.

• With another block on Thursday, James Baker is now in third place in MSU program history with 116 career blocked shots.

• During Morehead State's 10-game winning streak, the Eagles have held a lead for 334 (33.4 average) of the possible 400 minutes of action.

• Balanced scoring has been a staple of the Eagles' offense this year. In nine games now, MSU has had four or more players score in double figures.

• Junior guard DeVon Cooper has only been held to less than 10 points in a game four times this season, leading the team with 16 double-figure efforts. He has 37 career double figure games too.

• MSU has won seven straight games by double digits for the first time in program history (1929).

• Assistant coach Scott Combs has APSU ties, having played at Austin Peay and serving as assistant coach in Clarksville for more than 10 seasons with several OVC championships.

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