BOX SCORE
MOREHEAD, KY -- Morehead State center Alex Gross hit a put-back layup and free throw with 16.9 seconds remaining, giving the Morehead State men's basketball team its first and only lead of the night, as MSU rallied to defeat ETSU 61-57 on FamilyLeisure.com Court in Johnson Arena Sunday.
The Eagles (5-5) went into the halftime break trailing the Buccaneers, 36-27, but shot 59 percent in the final half and held ETSU to just 31 percent while outscoring the visitors 34-21 in the final half.
Gross led the Eagles with 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Trent Scott added seven points and seven rebounds off of the bench and Mark Freeman helped out with nine points and five assists.
Led by Gross' four offensive rebounds, Morehead State did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 10 boards that resulted in 19 second-chance points.
Morehead State did a great job disrupting East Tennessee State shots in the contest, coming away with six blocks.
How It Happened
After falling behind 17-9, Morehead State went on an 8-0 run with 11:47 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from LJ Bryan, to tie the game at 17. East Tennessee State then pulled ahead, sending the Eagles into halftime down 36-27.
Morehead State narrowed its deficit to 57-53 before going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Drew Thelwell's layup, to seize a 61-57 lead with two seconds to go in the contest. Jake Wolfe buried a three-pointer with 1:50 left that pulled the Eagles to within 57-56. Thelwell had a chance to put his team on top with a pair of free throws with 1:05 left but missed both. On the other end Kalil Thomas blocked an end-of-the-shot-clock three-point attempt. Thelwell drove to the bucket but missed a layup when Thomas skied for a second-chance putback. He missed but Gross was there for the rebound and game winner.
ETSU was still on top by nine with 10:11 to play.
Game Notes
» Morehead State had a 35-25 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Eagles were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, recording six blocks as a team.
» Morehead State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 10 offensive boards in the game.
» The win was the first over ETSU since 2013-14, and the victory allowed MSU to take a 29-28 lead in the all-time series.
Up Next
MSU travels to Georgia Southern on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.
