The Morehead State men's basketball team defeated the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, 81-74, on Thursday night at Johnson Arena as a strong second-half performance propelled the hosts to victory.
The Eagles improved to 10-8 overall and 4-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play. Tennessee Tech fell to 13-7 and 5-2 in league play. It was the fourth straight win for MSU over TTU in the long-running series.
"We were disciplined down the stretch, and we made free throws," said Head Coach Sean Woods. "Tennessee Tech is a tough basketball team and it was an up-and-down game, but I thought our guys really stepped up to the plate. The main thing is, we just need to continue to stay focused, and we were tonight."
After going into the locker room down 38-35, MSU came out firing in the second half. The Eagles outscored TTU 46-36 in the second period, holding the Golden Eagles to just 3-of-14 shooting in the game's final 10 minutes.
The Eagles shot 44 percent (24-of-55) from the field and set season highs in free throw attempts and makes, hitting 27-of-36 freebies. MSU won the rebounding battle, pulling 35 boards to TTU's 34. Sixteen rebounds came on the offensive glass and led to 17 second-chance points.
Junior guard Xavier Moon finished with a career-high 24 points, 17 of which came in the second half.
Senior forward Anthony Elechi recorded his first double-double of the season and the second of his career, finishing the game with 15 points and 14 rebounds. He played a pivotal role down the stretch, netting 13 of his points and pulling down nine of his rebounds in the second half, while accounting for 11 of Morehead State's 16 offensive rebounds.
Freshman guard Malik Maitland came off the bench to score 10 points.
Tennessee Tech's Torrance Rowe led the way for his team, dropping in 22 points. Ryan Martin had a double-double (20 points and 13 rebounds), while Aleksa Jugovic scored 21. The rest of the Golden Eagles combined for only 11 points though on just 3-of-10 shooting.
The Eagles' next game will be at home on Saturday against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. Tip-off is set for noon ET and it will be televised on the American Sports Network.
