Morehead State men's basketball erased an 11-point second half deficit and rallied to defeat host Jacksonville State 72-69 at the Pete Mathews Coliseum Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles (10-12/6-3 OVC) fell behind 57-46 with less than 10 minutes remaining, but used a 22-5 run to pull back ahead. The Gamecocks fell to 13-11 and 5-4 in the league.
"Our guys found a way to get it done. They did not look at the score, which is hard to do when you are down. To their credit, they kept unbelievable focus throughout, they didn't care about the score or the clock, and they really executed on both ends to get back into the game," said interim head coach Preston Spradlin. "This team is so helpful to each other and they have each other's backs."
Senior guard Xavier Moon led the charge with 21 points, his sixth 20-point effort this year and third in the last four games. He also added five assists and three steals. Senior guard Miguel Dicent registered a season-high 20 points and was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
"Those two (Moon and Dicent) are so fun to watch go after it. They compete and they talk and they're there to pick our team up when we need it. They're not afraid to knock down any shot or make any pass. They're both really special," said Spradlin.
Senior forward Dejuan Marrero notched his league-best 11th double-double and second straight with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The Eagles nailed 19-of-22 from the charity stripe and are now 51-of-58 (.879) in the last three games.
Morehead State used a 15-2 run to build its largest first half lead (25-15) with 9:08 left after Moon's first three-pointer. But the Gamecocks rallied back with an 11-0 flurry, capped by a dunk from Jacara Cross, to regain the advantage 26-25. The hosts led by five twice in the final three minutes before a Marrero bucket with six ticks remaining left the Eagles trailing 39-36 at the half.
JSU opened the second half on a 10-2 run in the first four minutes to push ahead 49-38. The Eagles used the 22-5 run, started by two Lamontray Harris free throws, to catapult to a 68-62 cushion with 2:56 left. A Malcolm Drumwright trey with 44 ticks left pulled the hosts to within 70-68, but Dicent iced the win with a pair of free tosses at the six-second mark.
JSU's Greg Tucker led all players with 27 points, including five triples.
Morehead State finished with a 46-percent (24-of-52) shooting efficiency, while JSU managed 45 percent.
Morehead State continues its road swing next Saturday at Southeast Missouri. Game time is at 5:15 p.m. ET.
