Junior Brent Arrington poured in a game-high 24 points, while senior KaramMashour snatched a game-best 19 rebounds to lift the Morehead State men's basketball team to an 80-61 exhibition victory over St. Catharine (Ky.) on Wednesday night (Nov. 5) at Johnson Arena.
The NAIA Patriots, who are members of the Mid-South Conference, had previously dropped their first two regular-season games. The Eagles, who compete in the Ohio Valley Conference, open regular-season action on Nov. 14 at UNLV before returning for their home opener on Nov. 17.
"We were rusty and anxious tonight, but I will take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day of the week," Head Coach Sean Woods said. "Our newcomers showed some nerves in this one, but that's what exhibitions are for. I saw some good things, but also plenty of things we need to work on."
Arrington knocked down 9-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. He also registered five rebounds and a game-high three blocked shots.
"Brent played well tonight," Woods said. "I've been talking to him about taking what the defense gives him and not forcing things. He's an important piece for us this season. This is his third year at Morehead State (including a redshirt year) and his fourth season with me as the head coach."
Mashour also tallied 13 points, on 5-of-7 from the field, for the only double-double on either side. His performance follows three exhibition contests in the Bahamas, when he collected 56 points (18.7 ppg) and 60 rebounds (20.0 rpg). He only played five regular-season minutes in 2013-14 due to injury.
"One of our program staples is rebounding," Woods said. "Karam had another big game in that regard, but everyone else needs to join the party. We have some post players who are injured right now, so we will be guard oriented at the beginning of the year. We need those guys to rebound, too."
Morehead State opened up a 24-point halftime advantage behind 58 percent (18-of-31) field-goal shooting before the break. The Eagles cooled off after intermission to finish at 47 percent (30-of-64). MSU did, however, knock down 9-of-22 from long distance and force 23 turnovers in the victory.
Senior Ben Vozzola led three Patriots in double figures with 14 points.
SCC forced 22 turnovers, but MSU posted a 31-20 upper hand in points off turnovers. The Eagles also managed a 43-37 rebounding advantage and 34-20 edge in paint points.
"Give St. Catharine a lot of credit," Woods added. "They played hard. This was a good contest for us in November. Rome wasn't built in a day. It will take our group some time to figure things out, but I think we can be good once we do. We have enough pieces. We just need to put them together.
