Men's Hoops Claims OVC Opener Over Little Rock, 78-64

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State Men's Basketball led for more than 34 minutes, including by 20 at one point in the second half, and out-rebounded visiting Little Rock by 17 as the Eagles won their Ohio Valley Conference opener 78-64 over the Trojans at Johnson Arena Tuesday night.

MSU (4-7, 1-0 OVC) shot 52 percent in the first half and opened up a 46-29 halftime lead. The visitors (2-9, 0-1) made a brief comeback run in the second half but MSU coasted to the finish and ended up hitting 46 percent overall (27-of-59) for the night. The Eagles now lead the young series 4-3.

"It was a really good team win. We got some stops and got out in transition," said head coach Jonathan Mattox. "The second half wasn't quite as good. They (Little Rock) showed more traps and more intensity on defense, and we need to handle that a little better. But I was proud of our effort. I thought playing 10 guys tonight was key. We had good energy, and we had good rotations."

George Marshall paced the Eagle attack with 17 points, his team-high sixth double-figure scoring game this winter. Chase Dawson cashed in 13 points, while Tyonne Farrell - making only his second start this year - scored a season-best 11 and dished out a career-best tying six assists. Jon Carroll had a roundabout game with eight points, seven rebounds and a career-best four steals.

"We weren't even sure George was going to be able to play," said Mattox. "He had been sick and didn't even go through shoot-around, but he told me that he had worked too hard to miss the game. Proud of that young man."

MSU didn't particularly shoot well from distance (5-of-16) but made it count at the free throw line, where it nailed 19-of-25.

Toungthach Gatkek, returning from injury for Little Rock, led the Trojans with 17 points and seven steals. Kachi Nzeh had 13 points.

MSU led 51-31 with 18:31 left but then saw Little Rock rally and only trail by 10 (53-43) with about 14 minutes left. But, the Eagles valiantly pushed their advantage back out, eventually moving out to a 17-point cushion on two occasions. 

The Eagles made it count in the paint as well, leading the Trojans 38-26. 

MSU continues the league action on Saturday when it faces Southern Indiana on the road at 4:30 p.m. ET.