GAME NOTES | SCHEDULE PAGE (LINKS TO LIVE AUDIO, LIVE VIDEO AND LIVE STATS)
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State men's basketball had a successful first-half of the Ohio Valley Conference race, sitting at 7-3, but now the back half commences. The first test comes Thursday when SIUE visits for a 7:30 p.m. ET tip-off.
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 owns a 17-8 series lead over SIUE, including a come-from-behind 73-72 win in Edwardsville on Jan. 3. MSU has won four of the previous six meetings held in Johnson Arena and is 10-3 all-time versus the Cougars at home.
SIUE sits one game behind the Eagles in the OVC race, at 6-4. The Cougars are 13-8 overall.
2025-26 RECORDS
MSU: 11-10, 7-3 OVC | SIUE: 13-8, 6-4 OVC
THE SERIES
Record vs. SIUE: 17-8
First Meeting: 1/19/10 MSU won 66-46 at MSU
Last Meeting: 1/3/26 MSU won 73-72 at SIUE
Streak: MSU, W1
Record in Edwardsville, Ill.: 6-5
Record in Morehead: 10-3
Neutral Record: 2-0
LAST 5 GAMES
2/8/24 MOREHEAD, KY. W 79-68
3/7/24 Evansville, Ind. W 78-63
1/25/25 Edwardsville, Ill. L 65-54
2/20/25 MOREHEAD, KY. L 80-62
1/3/26 Edwardsville, Ill. W 73-72
NOTABLE
• The first matchup with SIUE was all but in the Cougars' victory column, with SIUE leading by 15 with 5:47 to play. But a furious rally by MSU thwarted that result.
Chase Dawson hit a corner three-pointer with 15 seconds to play that effectively iced the comeback, a 73-72 win.
• Morehead State's Feb. 7 game at UT Martin has been selected to air live on ESPNU. This marks the seventh straight season MSU has had at least one game on the OVC's linear TV package with ESPN and is 7-3 in those games.
• Morehead State is 6-0 in games decided by five points or less this year and 10-2 in those scenarios under head coach
Jonathan Mattox.
• The Eagles own a 6-1 mark when they score 70-79 points, and all six wins in that situation have been Ohio Valley Conference victories.
• Morehead State is 68-12 at home since the 2020-21 season, winning 86 percent of the time in Johnson Arena. In that span, that ranks No. 1 in the league for home winning percentage.
• Morehead State has won 53 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).
• The Eagles have won five games this season where they trailed with three or fewer minutes left in regulation.
• Morehead State ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage at .463.
• After an uncharacteristic 10-for-20 night at the free throw line versus Western Illinois, the Eagles returned to form Saturday, going 21-for-24. MSU shoots 74 percent at the line against OVC teams.
•
Chase Dawson and
Davion Cunningham have both now eclipsed 800 career collegiate points. Dawson (823) Cunningham (810) each reached or exceeded the 800 threshold vs. Western Illinois Jan. 22.
•
George Marshall, Jr., now has 966 career points in college. He's scored 540 in his three seasons at MSU.
•
George Marshall, Jr., has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 12 games, averaging 14.1 ppg in that span.
•
Anouar Mellouk has scored a double-double in two of the past three games, averaging 11.6 ppg and 8.6 rpg in the last three.
• MSU had 10 blocked shots against EIU on Jan. 24, a season high, and the first 10+ block game against a Division I opponent since Feb. 25, 2023 versus UT Martin.
• Morehead State's non-starters average 31.9 points per game, second in the OVC. In eight games this year, MSU's bench production has been 10+ points better than the opponent's bench scoring.
• MSU has scored 20+ points in the paint in all 21 games and has 12 games where it scored 30+ in the paint.
• 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 72-3 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 41-10 in the first month of the new year.
• The Eagles boast an 8-2 record this season when they make more free throws than the opponent.
