Morehead State men's basketball picked up its second straight Ohio Valley Conference win Saturday evening via a 73-65 decision over SIU Edwardsville at Johnson Arena. With the victory, the Eagles improve to 6-10 (2-1 OVC) on the season.
A second-half turnaround ignited a Morehead State offense that entered halftime facing a 36-31 deficit. 2016-17 leading scorer Xavier Moon ended the first 20-minute period without a single point, clanking 0-for-6 from the field. The 6-foot-2 Preseason All-OVC performer was not deterred, however, as Moon completed the second half with a game-high 16 points, eight assists, and five rebounds.
"We played really well (in an 85-75 win over Eastern Illinois) on Thursday, but I told our guys before the game, now it's about how we respond to some success," said interim head coach Preston Spradlin. "The first half we didn't respond - so we had to hit the reset button - but to our guys' credit, they were unbelievable at defending in the second half."
Freshman guard Jordan Walker poured in 16 points of his own on 5-of-7 (.714) shooting from the floor - as well as 4-for-4 shooting from the foul line - in just 16 minutes off the bench. Senior Ronnye Beamon recorded 10 points and three steals, anchoring an Eagles defense that forced 22 turnovers from the Cougars.
"Ronnye is the catalyst for us defensively," Spradlin said. "Since we've inserted him into the starting lineup, our team defense has been much better."
Morehead State outscored SIUE 30-22 in the paint, 19-14 off turnovers, and 32-13 off the bench. Though SIU Edwardsville won the rebounding battle by a 39-27 margin, the Eagles defense proved all but impenetrable in the contest's final stretch. MSU held the Cougars to 8-of-26 (.308) shooting in the second half, including just a 1-of-8 (.125) performance from three-point range.
"We held them to 29 points in the second half, and we forced 22 turnovers," said Spradlin. "I was really proud of that."
Morehead State returns to action on Thursday when 2016 OVC regular season champion Belmont visits Johnson Arena at 7 p.m. ET.
