Trailing by 11 points with just over six minutes to go, Morehead State men's basketball rallied to force overtime, before ultimately falling at Eastern Washington, 88-86, on Tuesday night.
The loss marks the seventh straight for the Eagles as they fall to 2-7 on the year. EWU improved to 8-2 and they are a perfect 7-0 at home.
"I think we found something tonight that we haven't had in quite a while. Our guys just fought, they really fought. There are no consolation prizes or moral victories, but there's a lot that we can take away from this game and there's a lot that we can build on," said interim head coach Preston Spradlin.
Trailing 74-63 with 6:41 to go, sophomore forward Lamontray Harris mounted a 10-0 run of his own to pull the Eagles within one at 74-73 with just under four minutes remaining.
Morehead State then had a chance to win it in regulation, but senior forward DeJuan Marrero's shot fell off the rim and the two teams headed to overtime knotted at 77-77.
The Eagles twice held a two-point lead in the extra frame, but after leading 81-79, Eastern Washington closed on a 9-5 run to seal their fourth overtime victory of the season.
Harris led the way with a career-high 22 points and scored 12 straight late in the second half. He shot 9-of-15 from the floor and 2-of-3 from three-point range.
Marrero finished with his fourth double-double of the season with ten points and ten rebounds and junior guard Miguel Dicent also recorded a double-double with 11 points and a career-high 13 assists. He also added five rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.
Overall, six players finished in double figures for the Eagles as senior guard Xavier Moon scored 13 points, freshman guard Jordan Walker had 12, and senior forward Treshaad Williams finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Senior Ronnye forward Beamon finished with five points and eight rebounds, but helped lead the charge defensively in the second half.
After EWU's Bogdan Bliznyuk had 22 points in the first half, he helped limit the junior forward to just 12 points in the second half. He also helped hold Eastern Washing to 0-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc in the second stanza.
"We really clamped up on defense in the second half, but I have to give Ronnye (Beamon) so much credit. Inserting him into our starting lineup changed our game. He just gave us so much energy and that's just what he does. He was absolutely fantastic tonight, he picked up those two fouls in the first half, but he came back in the second half and really led the charge," said Spradlin.
Morehead State outrebounded Eastern Washington, 45-36, and finished with 20 assists and just 12 turnovers.
After playing six of their last seven games on the road, the Eagles return home this weekend to host East Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon and Central Arkansas on Monday night.
