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Late Rally Not Enough as Eagles Fall to JSU

MSU Athletics

A 20-point first-half deficit was too much to overcome for the Morehead State men's baskeball team at home on Sunday afternoon, as they lost 78-74 to the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.

The Eagles fell to 10-9 overall and 4-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while JSU improved to 8-15 on the season and 4-4 in league play.

"We had a bad start and we really missed Corban Collins today, which can be seen by our 17 turnovers," said head coach Sean Woods. "But, we had our chances down the stretch, we just didn't make enough plays. The effort was there, we just need to find a way to get over the hump."

With Jacksonville State leading 10-8 early in the game, they mounted a 17-0 run to extend their lead to 27-8. The Gamecocks hit five three-pointers during that stretch, four of which came from Eric Durham.

JSU's largest lead of the half was 30-10, but the Eagles charged back with a late first-half rally to trim the halftime deficit to 41-28.

The Eagles started the second half on a 12-2 run, cutting the disadvantage to three points and also cut the lead down to one on two occasions, but they could not get over the hump and never claimed the lead.

The Gamecocks hit 11-of-14 free throws in the last four minutes and were 17-of-19 in the second half. They shot 20-of-25 from the charity stripe for the game.

Morehead State won the rebounding battle, 34-22, and they grabbed 14 offensive boards, finishing with 17 second-chance points. MSU tallied 34 points in the paint, while shooting 50 percent from the field.

The Eagles hit 6-of-11 shots from behind the arc, good for 54 percent, and received 21 bench points.

Junior guard Xavier Moon led the way for the Eagles with 22 points. Senior big man Anthony Elechi netted 15 points and hauled in eight rebounds. Freshman Malik Maitland accounted for 11 points and dished out eight assists. Senior guard Brent Arrington tallied 10 points to go along with his six assists.

JSU guard Greg Tucker finished with 24 points, knocking down 11-of-13 free throws, while Durham scored 20 points, shooting 7-of-9 overall. He was 6-of-8 from deep after hitting his first five shots from three-point range.

After shooting 58 percent in the first half, the Gamecocks were limited to 39 percent in the second half. Jacksonville State collectively shot 12-of-21 from behind the arc.

The Eagles host Austin Peay on Wednesday night. Tip-off is set for 7:45 p.m. ET following the MSU women's contest versus Tennessee Tech.

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