Sophomore guard MalikMaitlandscored 18 points and dished out seven assists as Morehead State men's basketball fell 84-79 to Northern Kentucky on Wednesday night at Johnson Arena.
With the loss, the Eagles fall to 2-4 on the season.
"It was a tough one tonight. I thought our kids played hard, but we didn't execute particularly well down the stretch. We'll work on that and make sure we continue to get better," said interim head coach Preston Spradlin. "Win or lose, we're going to have to learn from what we're doing and that's how we're going to get better."
Morehead State had five players finish in double figures and led for 23-plus minutes despite the loss. They also shot 51 percent from the floor, 9-of-14 from three-point range, and had 19 assists to just 11 turnovers.
But, the Eagles were outrebounded, 34-27, while Northern Kentucky shot 62 percent in the second half and 52 percent for the game. NKU also shot 20-of-31 from the free throw line, while MSU shot just 6-of-9.
Sophomore forward Drew McDonald led the way for the Norse with 32 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 12-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-4 from three point range.
Maitland shot 7-of-14 from the floor, 1-of-2 from three-point range, and 3-of-3 from the free throw line for his 18 points. He also added seven assists and three steals.
Junior guard Miguel Dicent added 16 points for the Eagles, 13 of which came in the first half, while sophomore forward Lamontray Harris had 15 points. Senior forward DeJuan Marrero finished with 12 points and six rebounds and senior guard Xavier Moon added 11 points.
Next up, Morehead State hits the road to face Big Ten foe Purdue on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.
Story provided by (MSU Athletics)