Belmont's Grayson Murphy hit a three-pointer with three seconds left in regulation to force overtime, but Morehead State hit 13 of 14 free throws in the extra period as the Eagle men's basketball team ended the regular season with an 89-82 victory over the Bruins at Johnson Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles finished the regular season at 20-7 and 17-3 in the OVC, just a game behind Belmont (24-3/18-2 OVC). It marks just the eighth 20-win season in program history, while the 17 league triumphs are a school record. It also marked just the third-ever win for MSU over the Bruin program and head coach Preston Spradlin's first over Belmont.
After missing three free throws in the final 20 seconds of regulation that may have sealed the win, the Eagles only hit one field goal in overtime but canned the 13 free throws in the extra five minutes while seeing Belmont misfire on five three-pointers.
Freshman forward Johni Broome continued his case for OVC Freshman of the Year with a team-high 20 points while grabbing 12 rebounds, his 10th double-double and his seventh effort of 20 or more points. Junior guard Skyelar Potter also joined Broome in the double-double department with 18 points and a team-best 13 rebounds. It's the third game this year Broome and Potter have both notched double-doubles in the same game.
Junior guard DeVon Cooper registered 16 points, including a career-best 10-of-10 at the free throw line. Cooper drilled all six of his free throws in the final 1:05 of overtime. Senior James Baker, Jr., scored 15 points and had three blocked shots in his final home game, and sophomore guard Ta'lon Cooper was the fifth Eagle in double digits at 10.
Murphy flirted with his second triple-double of the year, both against MSU. He had a career-best 24 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
The No. 2 seed for the OVC Tournament, Morehead State will face Southeast Missouri in the opening round Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. ET. The game will air on ESPN+.
