BOX SCORE
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- Riley Minix scored a career high - and Morehead State individual season high - 34 points while Jordan Lathon added 20, and the Eagle men's basketball team knocked off the Southeast Missouri Redhawks 83-64 on the road Sunday.
Minix and Lathon's stellar scoring performances led the Eagles (10-4, 1-0 OVC) in the team's first OVC contest. Minix tacked on eight rebounds and Lathon added nine rebounds and five assists. Drew Thelwell, the OVC leader in assists, also helped out with nine points and seven assists.
Minix's scoring outburst was the most by a Morehead State individual since Drew Kelly scored 40 against South Dakota on Dec. 19, 2013. Since the 2007-08 season, MSU is now 11-2 against SEMO at the Redhawk's home facility, the Show Me Center.
Morehead State took advantage of great ball movement in Sunday's game, piling up 20 assists on 28 made field goals.
The Morehead State defense held Southeast Missouri State shooters to just 39 percent from the field. The Eagles also kept Aquan Smart to 4-of-16 shooting in the game. The Redhawks did not get many second opportunities on the offensive end, as they grabbed only four offensive rebounds and scored just seven second chance points while Morehead State pulled down 28 defensive rebounds and held a decisive 35-20 rebounding cushion for the game.
How It Happened
After falling behind 30-29, Morehead State went on a 7-0 run with 4:11 left in the first half to take a 36-30 lead. The Eagles then added one point to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 40-33 advantage. Morehead State did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 20 of its 40 points close to the basket.
Following intermission, Morehead State kept widening that lead, expanding it to 61-50 before going on a 7-0 run to grow the lead to its largest (68-50) with 7:04 to go in the contest. The Eagles kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 83-64 win.
Game Notes
» Morehead State found success from beyond the arc, knocking down nine treys in the game. MSU leads the OVC in made three-pointers and shots attempted from beyond the arc.
» Morehead State never trailed in the second half on its way to victory.
» The Eagles shared the ball well, recording an assist on 71 percent of made baskets.
»
Riley Minix,
Jordan Lathon, and
Drew Thelwell combined to account for 76 percent of the Eagles points.
» The Morehead State defense forced 13 turnovers.
Up Next
MSU returns home for a pair of games this week. First up is Tennessee Tech Thursday at 7 p.m. ET and Saturday is versus Tennessee State at 3 p.m.
