Seven players scored in double figures to help lift the Morehead State men's basketball team to a 107-85 victory over St. Catharine (KY) in an exhibition contest Saturday (Nov. 2) at Johnson Arena.
"Our depth is the strength of our team," Head Coach Sean Woods said.
Junior Angelo Warner led the Eagles with 17 points, while junior Billy Reader and sophomore Brent Arrington chipped in with 15 apiece. Senior Bakari Turner finished with 13, junior Luka Pajkovic had 12 and seniors Drew Kelly and Chad Posthumus both had 11. Kelly also finished with a game-high 11 rebounds. St. Catharine's Omar Skinner led all scorers with 19.
Morehead State junior Billy Reader added 15 points on 7-of-8 from the floor while also grabbing eight rebounds.
The teams combined for 66 fouls and 97 free throws attempted. SCC hit 32-of-49 free tosses, while the Eagles nailed 31-of-48. MSU shot 61 percent (34-of-56) for the game, while the Patriots hit 37 percent (22-of-60).
The hosts opened the contest with a 15-3 run and raced out to a 30-10 lead on Arrington's three-pointer with 10:05 remaining in the first half.
Trailing 34-13 with 8:49 remaining in the opening 20 minutes, the Patriots went on a 13-3 run over the next 3:19, which cut the MSU lead to 37-26. MSU responded with four three pointers to take a 57-33 lead, its biggest of the first 20 minutes, into the locker room at halftime.
Morehead State shot 59 percent (19-of-32) in the opening half, while holding the Patriots to just 24 percent (8-of-33). SCC hit 52 percent (14-of-27) overall in the final half and outscored the Eagles 52-50.
MSU used an 18-7 spurt in the opening 7:18 of the second half to race out to its largest lead of the contest at 75-40.
"In the first half we did what we were supposed to do. In the second half we turned the ball over way too much," Woods added. "Overall I saw a lot of good things. Tomorrow is a new day and we will be ready to work."
MSU officially opens its season on Saturday (Nov. 9) when it plays host to Mid-Continent (KY) Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
