Morehead State men's basketball (6-11, 2-2 Ohio Valley Conference) dropped an 84-78 decision to Belmont (10-4, 4-0 OVC) Thursday night, despite an electric atmosphere in the season's first nationally televised game at Johnson Arena.
Down four with 22 seconds to go, Morehead State guard Xavier Moon grabbed a crucial rebound off the front end of a one-and-one at the defensive end. Miguel Dicent received the outlet pass, but came up short on a tightly contested jumper after 10 seconds of steadfast defense from the Bruins.
"Offensively, we did some really good things," said head coach Preston Spradlin. "We only had nine turnovers - five in the second half, which were costly - but I wasn't worried about offense. My concerns were on defense. Can we scheme, can we make adjustments as they make adjustments? We weren't as solid at those as we planned. A good Belmont team is going to take advantage of that."
In an efficient game from both teams that included eight lead changes, five Morehead State players reached double-digit scoring outputs. Moon led the way with 18, in addition to seven assists and four rebounds. Sophomore Lamontray Harris followed closely with 17 points and six boards, while seniors DeJuan Marrero and Ronnye Beamon logged 14 points and four rebounds apiece. Marrero added a game-high four steals, and Dicent logged 13 points and four boards.
"It's good to see five guys in double figures, it's good to see Miguel back in the flow offensively," Spradlin said. "(Marrero) was terrific, and Xavier didn't have a great shooting night, but he was aggressive and he did what he needed to do. Ronnye was excellent being aggressive and driving the ball, and it was also nice to get Lamontray going offensively."
Belmont shot 10-of-23 (.435) as a team from three-point range, and pounded the Eagles 40-26 in the paint. Senior forward Evan Bradds - one of two Bruins with over 20 points on the evening - scored a game-high 32, grabbed 10 rebounds, and made two steals.
Morehead State returns to action on Saturday, when Tennessee State (12-5, 3-1 OVC) visits Johnson Arena at 7:45 p.m. ET. The matchup will be the second half of a men's and women's doubleheader for the Eagles.
