GAME NOTES | SCHEDULE PAGE (LINKS TO LIVE AUDIO, LIVE VIDEO AND LIVE STATS)
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State's Men's Basketball returns home Thursday evening as the home portion of the 2026-27 scheduke gets underway with Virginia University-Lynchburg. Tip time is 5:15 p.m. ET and is the first game of a doubleheader as MSU's women's team hosts EKU afterward.
The game can be heard on the Eagle Sports Radio Network with WIVY-96.3 FM serving as flagship station. Chuck Mraz and
Drew Barnette provide the radio call. Fans can also hear it on MSUEagles.com, WGOH-100.9 FM/1370 AM, WMST-106.9 FM/1150 AM, WPKE 103.1 FM and WPRT 104.9 FM. The game will stream live on ESPN+ with Jared Stacy and
Dean Hardin.
The Eagles opened 2026-27 at Western Kentucky Monday. After keeping it close in the first half, WKU distanced itself in the final half and MSU fell 83-58.
Morehead State meets Virginia University-Lynchburg for the first time in program history. The Dragons, members of the National Christian College Athletic Association, are an HBCU school which was chartered in 1888. The school has sponsored athletic terams since 1921-22. The Dragons were 0-23 in 2025-26 and are playing a 2026-27 schedule that features 14 games against Division I opponents. They opened their season Monday night at VMI, falling 115-83. They play at Morgan State Wednesday.
2026-27 RECORDS
MSU: 0-1, 0-0 OVC | VUL: 0-1 (plays at Morgan State on Wednesday)
SERIES INFORMATION
Record vs. VUL: First Meeting
First Meeting: 11/5/26
Last Meeting: N/A
Streak: N/A
Record vs. VUL in Lynchburg, Va.: 0-0
Record vs. VUL in Morehead: 0-0
Neutral Record: 0-0
NOTABLE
• The last non-D1 team to beat MSU was Union (Ky.) on Dec. 12, 1992. Since then, MSU is 68-0 against non-D1 opponents.
• Morehead State has won 28 consecutive home-opening games. The last time MSU lost a home opener was 1997-98, 68-61, to Robert Morris on Nov. 25, 1997.
• The OVC co-Coach of the Year,
Jonathan Mattox, is the first coach in men's basketball program history to lead his team to an OVC regular-season championship in his first two years leading the program. He is in his third season as head coach, spending nine years on the Morehead State staff before two on staff at Murray State.
• Morehead State is 72-13 at home in the past five seasons, an 85 percent success rate in Johnson Arena.
• Morehead State's 15 league wins last season were the second most in program history, only behind the 17 won in 2020-21. The Eagle program has won at least a share of three of the past four OVC regular season titles.
• Morehead State has reached 20 wins in five of the past six seasons. No other current league team can claim that accomplishment.
•
Chase Dawson and
Vince Dawson III both were tabbed as "Players to Watch" in the OVC preseason awards. Morehead State was picked for a tie for third place with UT Martin and SIUE.
•
Chase Dawson and
Davion Cunningham both eclipsed the 900-point threshold in their college careers late in the season in 2025-26. Dawson has 928 now, while Cunningham sits at 918. Dawson opened 2026-27 with a team-best 13 points at WKU.
•
Clayton Parker opened the 2026-27 campaign with a solid game at Western Kentucky. He had 12 points, five boards and a career-high two steals. Parker missed the second half of his freshman season last winter for medical reasons.
•
Chase Dawson scored would what have been his MSU career high in points with 32 against Eastern Kentucky in the exhibition game.
Clayton Parker had a similar scene at Dayton in the exhibition, scoring 18 (which would have been a career high).
• Transfer
Kenyata Carbon was the Mid-South Conference Player of the Year last season at Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and was an NAIA Second-Team All-American. He racked up 1,380 points, nearly 400 rebounds, more than 300 assists and 150 steals in three years at Lindsey Wilson. He averaged 19.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 2025-26.
• Taylor (Ind.) transfer
Izaiah Day is also a big-time point producer. He scored more than 700 points in three seasons at Taylor.
• Newcomer
Kyrell Shaw led Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College last year, averaging 21.8 points per game while shooting 48 percent overall.
•
Justin Payne scored more than 700 points in two seasons at Young Harris (Ga.) and helped the Mountain Lions win the Conference Carolinas championship in 2025-26.
• MSU has won 42 straight games when its opponent scores 60 or less, since falling to No. 23-ranked Murray State on Feb. 12, 2022. The Eagles are 38-0 in the last five seasons in those scenarios and 10-0 under head coach
Jonathan Mattox.
• MSU was 11-3 last year in games decided by five points or less.
