BOX SCORE
MOREHEAD, KY -- Alex Gross notched a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds, and the Eagles lit up the nets to the tune of 60 percent field goal accuracy to lead the Morehead State men's basketball team to a 109-62 defeat of the Kentucky Christian Knights on FamilyLeisure.com Court at Johnson Arena Tuesday night.
The Eagles (4-4) had six players score in double figures for the third time in 2022-23, led by Gross. Branden Maughmer tacked on 14 points, and Mark Freeman helped out with 13 points, four assists and four steals. The Eagles went over 100 points for the second time this season, marking the first time since the 2018-19 season the program has multiple 100+ games.
"I thought Mark (Freeman) came out and really got his teammates involved," said head coach Preston Spradlin. "He had a big night for us, and really led our defense and pressured the ball. That is going to be important for us going forward. I thought our big guys did a pretty good job guarding out on the perimeter considering KCU had five guards on the floor all night and they really had no one to get matched up with. And obviously us getting 26 assists on 39 made field goals shows we did a good job sharing the ball."
The Morehead State offense was impressive from deep, knocking down eight threes.
Morehead State forced 19 Kentucky Christian turnovers while committing just 10 themselves in Tuesday's game. The Eagles turned those takeaways into 25 points on the other end of the floor. Freeman's four steals led the way for Morehead State.
How It Happened
After jumping out to an 18-15 advantage, Morehead State went on an 11-0 run with 12:53 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Gross, to increase its lead to 29-15. The Eagles then added 10 points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 58-34 advantage. Morehead State did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 34 of its 58 points close to the basket.
Morehead State kept its lead intact before going on a 7-0 run to grow the lead to 70-39 with 15:16 to go in the contest. The Eagles kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 109-62 win. Morehead State got a boost from its bench in the second period, as non-starters accounted for 27 of its 51 total points.
Game Notes
» The Eagles held the Knights to only 38.7 percent shooting from the field.
» Morehead State never trailed in the second half on its way to victory.
» The Morehead State bench came alive by adding 42 points to its scoring output.
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Jalen Hawkins and
Tucson Redding came off the bench to score 11 and 10 points, respectively.
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Jake Wolfe added 10 points and a career-high five assists.
» Morehead State had a 43-28 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Eagles were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, tallying a season-high 10 blocks as a team.
» Morehead State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 12 offensive boards in the game.
Up Next
MSU hosts North Alabama at 2 p.m. ET Saturday.
