Men's Basketball Opens Home Slate By Cruising Past Shawnee State 96-40

BOX SCORE

MOREHEAD, KY --The Morehead State men's basketball team got a 46-point performance from the bench on the way to cruising to a 96-40 victory against Shawnee State in the 2023-24 home opener Wednesday at Johnson Arena.

The Eagles (1-1) had four players score in double figures, led by graduate Riley Minix, who put together his first Eagle double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds. He also filled out the stat sheet with five assists and four steals. Freshman Eddie Ricks III tacked on 18 points, eight rebounds and two blocks off of the bench, and graduate Kalil Thomas helped out with 13 points. Freshman Jerone Morton had a career-high 10 points.

Senior guard Drew Thelwell flirted in triple-double territory with nine points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

The Morehead State offense was very productive from deep, knocking down nine threes. Thomas was the most prolific shooter for the Eagles, draining three treys in the contest.

Morehead State's defense held Shawnee State to only 25 percent shooting from the field, including 29 percent from beyond the arc. The Eagles also limited the Bears' Tre Beard to 3-of-13 shooting and nine points in the game. SSU did not have much luck cleaning up its misses on the offensive glass either, as the Bears finished with eight offensive rebounds and managed just six second chance points. Morehead State cleared 36 defensive rebounds and easily won the rebound battle 51-23. 

How It Happened

After jumping out to a 6-3 advantage, Morehead State went on a 14-0 run with 16:37 left in the first half to increase its lead to 20-3. The Eagles then added 12 points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 49-20 advantage. Morehead State did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 32 of its 49 points close to the basket.

Morehead State started tacking on points in the second half almost immediately, going on a 13-0 run, finished off by Ricks' layup, to grow the lead to 62-20 with 15:22 to go in the contest. The Eagles kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 96-40 win. Morehead State capitalized on 11 Shawnee State turnovers in the period, collecting 19 points off those turnovers.

Game Notes

» Riley Minix notched a double-double for the Eagles with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
» Morehead State lit it up from three point land, knocking down nine treys in the game.
» Morehead State never trailed on the way to a 96-40 victory.
» Morehead State recorded 23 total assists in the game.
» The Morehead State defense forced 19 turnovers.
» The Eagles were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, tallying six blocks as a team.
» Morehead State turned the ball over only 11 times while dishing out 23 assists.
» Morehead State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 15 offensive boards in the game.

Up Next

The Eagles will face another stiff challenge Friday night when they travel to No. 3 Purdue for a 7 p.m. ET game.