Men's Hoops Fends Off EIU to Win 10th Game in Last 11

BOX SCORE

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Led by a career-high 24 points from George Marshall and four others in double figures for the second straight game, Morehead State Men's Basketball kept up its winning ways Thursday night, fending off Eastern Illinois 73-66 in an ESPNU game at Groniger Arena.

The Eagles (13-7/8-1 OVC) kept their first-place status in the OVC intact and are now 10-1 in their last 11 games. MSU also won for the fifth straight time at EIU and the eighth time in a row in the series.

MSU had to hold off an incredibly pesky Panther (5-14/1-7 OVC) team that got a game-high 38 points from Naykel Shelton.

The Eagles took a 16-13 lead with 11:14 left in the first half, part of a 10-0 run, and never trailed again. But, the home team eventually made it interesting by trimming MSU's lead all the way down to two twice in the final two minutes before free throws iced the win.

Marshall, earning the start tonight, responded with his best-ever point production as an Eagle with 24. Kenny White, Jr. added 14 points, including a key fall away one-handed jumper as the shot clock ran out with 45 seconds left to push MSU's lead to 68-64. Point guard Jerone Morton scored 13 and handed out a career-high eight assists, while Tyler Brelsford managed 11 points, and Anouar Mellouk scored 10. While Dieonte Miles scored just a point, he rejected four key Panther shots, and all four blocks led to points on the MSU offensive end.

Morehead State out-rebounded the hosts 31-24 as White, Jr., led the way with eight boards. 

Shelton hit 14 of 20 shots and five three-pointers to almost single handily keep his team within striking distance.

MSU built as much as a 14-point (30-16) lead in the first half with 5:26 left and led 37-26 at halftime. But EIU eventually began the shave points off its deficit. The Panthers crept to within 61-58 with 4:58 remaining, and the Eagle advantage wavered between two and six the rest of the way.

The Eagles shot 52 percent (25-of-48)) on the evening the second straight game above 50 percent. EIU managed to hit 48 percent but shot 58 percent in the second period.

Morehead State remains on the road with a 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday game at SIUE.