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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Sophomore guard
Tyonne Farrell led five Morehead State men's basketball players in double figures with 17 points Monday in the Eagles' exhibition game versus Eastern Kentucky, but the visiting Colonels drained 16 three-pointers and had six score 10+ as they pulled away to defeat MSU 107-93 in a high-scoring affair at Johnson Arena.
It marked the first meeting since 2020-21 when the Colonels exited the OVC for the Atlantic Sun Conference. It was the 198th all-time meeting but the first known meet-up that was an exhibition game.
Farrell hit 4-of-4 from the floor and 8-of-8 from the free throw line in 24 minutes. He also added five rebounds. Sophomore guard
Josiah LeGree and freshman forward
Clayton Parker both netted 16 points, while sophomore guard
Chase Dawson poured in 12, and returning senior guard
George Marshall scored 10. Senior center
Tamaury Releford nearly was the sixth Eagle with 10+ as he scored eight. LeGree led the team with five assists as MSU had 16 helpers on 32 made buckets.
"We needed a challenge, and we needed to play a good program. We certainly faced one tonight," said head coach
Jonathan Mattox. "I thought we got off to a good, fast start, and they're (EKU) a team that's going to keep coming at you. Obviously, the three-point line was the difference in the result. We have a lot of stuff to clean up, but I was encouraged and we know what we have to do moving forward."
EKU drilled 16-of-36 from three-point range, outscoring MSU 30-18 from deep. Both teams made 23 free throws and both also finished with 31 rebounds. The Eagles only trailed 48-46 at halftime, but the Colonels shot 63 percent in the second half, including 9-of-15 triples, to pull away and outscore MSU 59-47 in the final half.
MJ Williams scored a game-high 23 points for EKU, including five three-pointers. He also had five assists.
Morehead State pulled ahead 20-12 with 12:43 left in the first half after Parker buried a fast-break corner three-ball. But, EKU responded with a 12-3 flurry to knot the game 23-all with 9:59 left before the break. Neither team held more than a five-point advantage for the rest of the half.
The game turned in favor of the Colonels early in the final half. Leading 67-64 with 14:26 left, EKU outscored MSU 9-2 over the ensuing three minutes to build its first double-digit lead (76-66). With 9:42 left, the visitors led by 12 and never had a lead of less than 10 the remainder of the night.
The Eagles only committed 10 turnovers against a mostly-pressing defensive strategy by EKU. The Eagles forced nine Colonel mistakes.
Morehead State opens its regular season at home on Nov. 3 against Midway (Ky.) at 7 p.m. ET.
