GAME NOTES | SCHEDULE PAGE (LINKS TO LIVE AUDIO, LIVE VIDEO AND LIVE STATS)
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State's men's basketball team embarks on a four-game homestand this week when Western Illinois visits Thursday. Game time is 7:30 p.m. ET at Johnson Arena as the Eagles welcome back students from winter break.
The game will air on ESPN+ with Jared Stacy and
Dean Hardin and the Eagle Sports Radio Network. Listen to Chuck Mraz and
Drew Barnette on WIVY-96.3 FM (flagship station), on WMST 106.9 FM, WPKE 98.1 in Pikeville, WPRT 104.5 in Prestonsburg or on MSUEagles.com.
Morehead State leads the all-time series with Western Illinois 6-4 and is 3-1 since the Leathernecks joined the OVC in 2023-24. MSU won the first three league matchups before WIU picked off the Eagles 72-67 in Macomb, Ill., last February.
WIU has only one win versus a Division I opponent this season and is 4-15 overall, but the Leathernecks have yet to win a league game at 0-8.
2025-26 RECORDS
MSU: 9-10, 5-3 OVC | WIU: 4-15, 0-8 OVC
THE SERIES
Record vs. WIU: 6-4
First Meeting: 11/30/81 MSU won 81-73 at MSU
Last Meeting: 2/15/25 WIU won 72-67 at WIU
Streak: WIU, W1
Record vs. WIU in Macomb, Ill.: 2-3
Record vs. WIU in Morehead: 4-1
Neutral Record: 0-0
LAST 5 GAMES
11/13/07 MOREHEAD, KY. W 61-49
1/27/24 MOREHEAD, KY. W 64-50
2/22/24 Macomb, Ill. W 78-57
1/16/25 MOREHEAD, KY. W 51-47
2/15/25 Macomb, Ill. L 72-67
NOTABLE
• Morehead State scored 100 points for third time this season and first against a DI foe Thursday at Tennessee State but the Tigers claimed an epic 105-100 overtime win. Previously, MSU had won six straight overtime contests, with the last extra-period loss coming ironically against Tennessee State in the OVC Tournament in 2020.
• MSU owns a demonstrative +22.2 scoring margin in its six home games. The Eagles have also shot the lights out at Johnson Arena, hitting 56 percent in home contests and possessing a +13.3 rebound margin.
• Morehead State's 100 points at TSU Thursday was the second most in a road game since the 2012-13 season. The highest road point total in the last 15 seasons is 101, also ironically at Tennessee State in 2013.
• Morehead State has won 52 straight games when it shoots at least 50 percent from the floor. The last team to defeat the Eagles when it made 50 percent or higher was Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 7, 2020 (MSU hit 67 percent but still lost that game).
• Morehead State has hit at least one three-pointer in 199 straight games. The last time MSU did not hit a triple was Jan. 16, 2020 at Tennessee State.
• The Eagles hit 75 percent from the free throw line in conference games, which ranks first in the league. In the past two games, MSU hit 83 percent (43-of-52) at the charity stripe.
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Davion Cunningham scored 25 points in the second half versus Southeast Missouri. It's the most points scored in a half by an Eagle player since former OVC Player of the Year and MSU Athletic Hall of Famer Ricky Minard scored 28 versus Marshall all the way back on Dec. 17, 2002. Minard had two points in the first half that day, 28 in the final half and five in overtime as MSU won 101-100.
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Vince Dawson III would lead the conference in three-point percentage (.487) if he had enough attempts to qualify. Dawson, known as "Trip", is 19-of-39 outside the arc and 6-of-16 (.375) inside the three-point line.
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Chase Dawson and
Davion Cunningham are closing in on 800 career collegiate points. Dawson (798) leads Cunningham (782) slightly.
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George Marshall now has 944 career points in college. He's scored 478 in his three seasons at MSU.
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Anouar Mellouk scored his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win at Tennessee Tech. One of only three returning Eagles from 2024-25, he had two double-doubles last season.
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George Marshall has scored in double figures in eight of the last 10 games and averaged 15.5 points in that span.
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Davion Cunningham averaged 20.6 points in the last three games, including a career-high 35 in a comeback win over SEMO Jan. 10.
• Morehead State's non-starters average 32.2 points per game, second in the OVC. MSU has outscored the opponent bench contingent in 12 of the 19 games.
• Morehead State has out-rebounded 96 opponents in the last five years, winning 75 of those games.
• MSU has scored 20+ points in the paint in all 19 games and averages 35.0 paint points per game.
• Call us the comeback crew. MSU has five wins this year where it trailed at halftime. That's the most wins trailing after 20 minutes in the past six seasons.
• In the past five years, MSU is an amazing 70-3 when it holds a lead with a minute left in the game.
• January has been Morehead State's most successful month. In the past six seasons, the Eagles are 39-10 in the first month of the new year.
