Men's Hoops Uses Free Throw Accuracy Down the Stretch to Defeat Georgia Southern

BOX SCORE

STATESBORO, Ga. --The Morehead State men's basketball team didn't hit a field goal in the final 9:35 at Georgia Southern Wednesday night, but never fear. The Eagles drained 21 free throws during that period and also shot 50 percent from three-point range on the night en route to a 74-71 win against the GSU Eagles on the road Wednesday.

The Eagles (6-5) had four players score in double figures, led by Kalil Thomas, who tied his career-high with 21 points. Thomas had 13 points in the first half and hit 8-of-9 overall and 4-of-5 from three-point range in the game. Alex Gross added 13 points, and Mark Freeman helped out with 13 points and five assists. Jake Wolfe scored all 11 of his points from the free throw stripe as the visitors were 24-of-31 on free tosses in the second 20 minutes.

The Morehead State defense held Georgia Southern (6-5) shooters to only 35 percent from the field, including just 15 percent from three-point range (4-of-26). MSU leads the Ohio Valley Conference in three-point defense.

How It Happened
After jumping out to a 21-15 advantage, Morehead State went on a 7-0 run with 7:46 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Thomas, to increase its lead to 28-15. The Eagles then added one point to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 34-20 advantage. Morehead State relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down five shots to account for 15 of its 34 points.

Morehead State kept its lead intact before going on a 6-0 run to grow the lead to 48-35 with 12:01 to go in the contest. Thomas' triple with 9:35 left gave MSU a 16-point lead (53-37) but GSU kept narrowing the margin, eventually pulling to less than five with 10 seconds to play.

Game Notes
» Morehead State was 27-of-35 from the free throw line, the most made FTs since making 31 in an overtime win over Belmont during the 2020-21 season.
» MSU made half of its attempts from three point range, knocking down seven of 14 shots for a season-high 3-point percentage against D1 opponents.
» The Eagles held GSU to only 35.3 percent shooting from the field.
» Morehead State never trailed on the way to a 74-71 victory.
» Morehead State got a team-high 10 rebounds from Drew Thelwell, which tied his season and career high.
» MSU now is 2-0 all-time against GSU, having won 59-51 in Morehead last winter.

Up Next
MSU finishes its road trip to Georgia at 2 p.m. ET Saturday at Southern Conference foe Mercer.