Men's Hoops Holds Off Western Illinois, 71-66

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Davion Cunningham and Tamaury Releford combined for 30 points and 15 rebounds off the bench, and the Morehead State men's basketball team out-rebounded visiting Western Illinois 50-31, but it took all 40 minutes to fend off the persistent Leathernecks as MSU prevailed 71-66 at Johnson Arena Thursday.

"A lot people contributed, so I was proud of a good team win tonight," said Head Coach Jonathan Mattox. "We had 21 offensive rebounds and 22 second-chance points, so we really did a great job inside tonight. We take pride in our toughness plays. We're not graded on how aesthetically pleasing it is, and it was wasn't pretty at times, but every game in this league is big. Certainly when we're home at Johnson Arena, we have to protect our home court."

MSU moved to 10-10 overall and 6-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while WIU was left still searching for its first conference win at 0-9 and 4-16 overall.

Cunningham scored a team-high 18 points and also grabbed six rebounds. Releford scored 12 and pulled down nine boards for a near double-double, and Jon Carroll secured a career-high 15 rebounds (the highest single-game total for an Eagle this year and the fifth most in the past 15 seasons). Morehead State's offensive rebound total was a season-high.

Anouar Mellouk added 11 points, and George Marshall ended with 10 - his team-best 13th game scoring 10+ this year. 

The Eagles' rebounding prowess canceled out a uncharacteristic 10-for-20 night shooting free throws as the Eagles entered the night with the best in-conference free throw shooting accuracy at 75 percent. MSU was also held to just 3-of-16 three-point shooting.

On the other end, the Leathernecks were draining triples to keep them in the game. WIU hit 10-of-24 from distance as Lucas Lorenzen canned five and scored a game-high 26.

MSU found itself with a 10-point first half lead (25-15), but WIU chipped away at that with an 8-0 scoring flurry. Goanar Billiew's layup with 3:40 left in the opening half had the visitors' deficit back to just one at 29-28. MSU was able to push back ahead and led 39-32 at halftime.

WIU actually led in the second half, and held a 59-55 cushion with 8:37 remaining. After that, neither team led by more than two until the final minute as the battle featured 13 ties and 11 lead swaps. Chase Dawson finally put the game in hand for the Eagles with a free throw with 10 seconds left. MSU led 69-66 before a missed a triple by WIU and an ensuing fifth foul by Lorenzen led to a pair of final free tosses by Cunningham.

Morehead State finished the night slightly ahead in the shooting accuracy column, hitting 44 percent to the 'Necks' 41 percent. MSU now leads the series 7-4 all-time and is 4-1 against WIU since it joined the OVC three seasons ago.

MSU is scheduled to host Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon. With winter weather impending, check MSUEagles.com and the athletics' social media channels for updates on potential game time or game day adjustments.