Morehead State jumped out to a 38-15 lead at the half and held on to win, 60-46, at Saint Louis on Wednesday night. The win moves the Eagles to 5-1, which is their best start since the 1990-91 season.
"It started with our defense tonight. Our defense was locked down, our guys were very into it and they really looked forward to guarding this type of offense," said head coach Sean Woods. "We were so disciplined tonight and to only have two days to prepare for them, I really tip my hat off to them."
The Eagles opened up the game late in the first half. They led 22-11 with just under eight minutes to go and then utilized an 11-2 run to open it up to 33-13. They then went into the half with a 38-15 lead after junior guard Corban Collins drilled a three-pointer at the horn.
At the start of the second half, they quickly expanded that lead to a game-high 26 points when senior guard Brent Arrington made his third three-pointer of the game on their first possession, opening the lead to 41-15.
The closest the Billikens got in the second half was at 49-37 with five minutes to go in the contest. Following a Morehead State timeout, junior guard Xavier Moon connected on back-to-back buckets and the Eagles mounted a 7-0 run of their own, reopening the lead back to 56-37 and putting the game away in the process.
The Morehead State defense took control from the onset. At the first media timeout of the game, the Billikens had four turnovers and just one field goal attempt, as the Eagles jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead. On the night, MSU limited the Billikens to 38 percent shooting, and they shot just 1-of-9 from deep. The Eagles had 15 blocks, forced 20 turnovers, and outrebounded Saint Louis, 34-25.
"I just can't say enough about the way we defended, and that's what is going to win us games," said Woods.
As good as their defense was throughout, their offense was nearly as good for the first 20 minutes. In the first half, the Eagles shot 15-of-31, knocked down 5-of-9 three-pointers, and had 10 assists. They finished the first half with 17 points off turnovers.
"We executed, we took our time coming off of screens, and I thought we got in great high-low situations," said Woods. "Our bigs did a really good job of seeing cutters, and we just did a really good job of playing as a team."
Nine different players scored for the Eagles and Arrington was the lone player to finish in double figures with 10 points. Seniors Anthony Elechi and Lyonell Gaines and junior Treshaad Williams added eight points, and Elechi also finished with nine rebounds. Gaines also had five rebounds, three assists, and three steals in 21 minutes of action.
Collins finished the game with six points and two assists, but played just 20 minutes after missing the majority of the second half with an injury.
Next up, Morehead State travels to Bloomington to face the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
