BOX SCORE
MACOMB, Ill. -- Riley Minix totaled 30 points and Jordan Lathon added 25 as the Morehead State men's basketball team halted a three-game losing skid with an emphatic 78-57 win on the road over the Western Illinois Leathernecks Thursday.
Minix and Lathon's stellar scoring performances led the Eagles (21-8, 12-4 OVC) in the contest. Minix tacked on 15 rebounds for his OVC best 16th double-double and seventh straight game with double digit points and boards. Dieonte Miles also helped out with six points and six rebounds.
Lathon now has 11 20+ point games this year, while Minix dotted 30+ for the third time this season.
MSU kept its hold on first place in the OVC.
Minix pulled down five offensive rebounds to lead the Morehead State offense which grabbed 18 boards and turned them into 23 second-chance points. The Eagles easily won the battle of the top two rebounding margin teams in the OVC, 53-30.
Morehead State's defense held Western Illinois to only 31 percent shooting from the field.
How It Happened
After jumping out to a 6-3 advantage, Morehead State went on an 8-0 run with 14:20 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Lathon, to increase its lead to 14-3. The Eagles then added two points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 37-24 advantage. Morehead State relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down six shots to account for 18 of its 37 points.
Morehead State kept its lead intact before going on a 9-0 run, finished off by Eddie Ricks III's jumper, to grow the lead to 59-39 with 9:06 to go in the contest. The Eagles kept expanding the margin and eventually led by as much as 24 (73-49). MSU coasted the rest of the way for the 78-57 win. Morehead State made the most of nine offensive rebounds to tack on 14 second-chance points out of 41 total in the period.
Game Notes
»
Riley Minix's 16 double-doubles are the most by an Eagle since Johni Broome had 22 in 2021-22.
» Morehead State found success from three point land, knocking down 10 treys in the game. It's the 15th game this season with 10+ triples.
» The Eagles held the Leathernecks to only 31 percent shooting from the field.
» Morehead State never trailed on the way to a 78-57 victory.
»
Riley Minix,
Jordan Lathon, and
Dieonte Miles combined to account for 78 percent of the Eagles points.
Up Next
MSU is idle Saturday, then returns to Johnson for the final two home games next week. First up is a Thursday tilt with Southeast Missouri at 7:30 p.m. ET.
