MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Tennessee Tech made nine of its last 11 field goals, and the game got interesting and close late, but the Morehead State Men's Basketball team held off the Golden Eagles to win 76-70 Saturday at the Eblen Center.
MSU improved to 5-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference and to 9-10 overall, while TTU lost its fifth straight and fell to 7-12 overall and 2-6 in the conference.
MSU held a 15-point (65-50) lead with 6:12 left but Tech got hot and rallied. However, in the final minute, MSU got the rebounds it needed and made six free throws in the final minute.
"There is no cruising in the OVC, any night," said head coach
Jonathan Mattox. "No matter if you are up 15 with a minute play, you have to finish the game so we just need to get our guys to realize that. But we did some good things tonight, and its tough to win on the road."
Anouar Mellouk posted his first double-double of the season with 12 points and a team-best 10 rebounds as MSU won the rebound war, 39-32.
George Marshall scored a team-high 16 points and was 3-of-5 from three-point range.
Davion Cunningham added 12 points and seven rebounds, while
Josiah LeGree also nailed three triples and scored 13.
Morehead State separated itself in the first half with a 13-2 run. Leading just 22-21 with 7:27 remaining in the opening 20, Marshall dropped in a second-chance three-pointer. With 2:06 left, Cunningham finished the scoring shift with a layup to let the Eagles surge ahead 35-23. Tech cut it back to six (35-29), but Cunningham drained a high-arching triple from the near corner as time expired in the half as MSU led 38-29.
The MSU lead was double digits until Tech finally cut it to less than 10 with 3:21 left. The MSU cushion was cut to three (70-67) with 1:10 remaining.
Dani Pounds led the Golden Eagles with 15 points as Tech shot 55 percent in the final half.
MSU shot 42 percent for the game and hit eight three-pointers.
MSU returns home for a four-game homestand next week as Western Illinois visits for a 7:30 p.m. ET game Thursday.
