WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Kentucky 77, @Murray State 65
@Austin Peay 84, Morehead State 81 (OT)
EASTERN KENTUCKY 77, MURRAY STATE 65
MURRAY, Ky. - In a battle of undefeated Ohio Valley Conference teams, Eastern Kentucky University led by as many as 22 points in the second half of a 77-65 win at Murray State University on Wednesday night.
Mike DiNunno and Corey Walden each finished with 20 points for the Colonels (13-3, 3-0 OVC). Tarius Johnson added an EKU career-best 17 points to go along with seven rebounds.
Eastern Kentucky held the Racers (11-4, 2-1 OVC) scoreless for the first six minutes of the game, but after taking a 7-0 lead MSU rolled off 11 unanswered.
The Colonels answered with a run of their own, scoring 24 straight points to take control of the game. DiNunno scored nine during the run, including seven straight at one point.
With 6:25 left in the first half, Murray State’s Dexter Fields fouled Walden on a shot attempt and then was whistled for a technical foul. The sophomore went to the line and hit all four free throws to cap the run and put Eastern in front 31-11.
The Racers closed the gap to 14 at halftime and got within eight four and a half minutes into the second half. EKU scored 12 of the next 14 to push its lead to 18. Walden scored seven of the 12 including three on a basket and a free throw. Jeff Johnson’s lay-up made it 53-35 with 12:08 remaining to play.
Five straight by Orlando Williams gave the Colonels their largest lead. The junior’s three-pointer with 7:42 to go gave the visitors a 65-43 advantage.
Murray State made one more run. The Racers knocked down five three-pointers during a 19-2 run that got the home team within five. Jeffery Moss’s triple closed it to 67-62 with 3:33 showing on the clock.
The Colonels stymied the run with four straight, two free throws by Walden and a lay-up from Tarius Johnson to push back in front by nine, 71-62. MSU never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
All-American Isaiah Canaan led Murray State with 24 points. He had six assists but turned it over seven times. Stacy Wilson added 16 points. Ed Daniel, who entered the game averaging 15 points and an OVC-best 11 rebounds, finished with four points and six boards.
Eastern Kentucky shot 51 percent from the field and 93 percent (13-for-14) from the free throw line. The Colonels battled to a 29-29 rebounding tie and committed six fewer turnovers. EKU held a 29-9 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Racers shot 43 percent from the field and made 11-of-29 from behind the arc (38 percent).
AUSTIN PEAY 84, MOREHEAD STATE 81 (OT)
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - – In a tale of two halves, Travis Betran’s three-point bucket at the overtime buzzer lifted Austin Peay State University to an 84-81 victory, Wednesday night, against Morehead State in Ohio Valley Conference action, snapping the Governors’ eight-game losing streak.
The victory put APSU at 5-12 overall and it also was the Govs first OVC victory, putting them at 1-2. It was APSU head coach Dave Loos’ 450th career coaching victory.
The loss snapped Morehead State three-game winning streak, dropping the Eagles to 8-9 overall and 1-2 in the OVC.
The way the first half evolved it appeared the Governors would run away from the Eagles. APSU connected on seven three pointers while Morehead State could make just 8-of-29 shots against the Govs’ 2-3 zone defense. Austin Peay led by as much as 21 points and settled for a 39-20 halftime advantage.
The second half became a complete reversal. The Eagles, who made just 1-of-11 three pointers in the first half, missed their first three attempt in the second but then hit six of their next seven attempts. The double-digit lead was erased for good by the 12:42 mark. In fact, Bakari Turner, who was scoreless in the first half, made all four three-point attempts at one point to whittle the lead down to four, 53-49.
Betran then pushed it back to seven with a traditional three-point play, but from that point APSU could never shake the determined Eagles. On three different occasions Morehead State cut the deficit to one. Finally Chad Posthumus threw down a dunk with 3:33 remaining to give Morehead State its first lead, 68-67, since the Eagles led 4-2.
But APSU displayed its resiliency. Freshman Chris Horton, who had battled foul problems much of the game, slammed home Anthony Campbell’s miss. Then Campbell hit two free throws to put APSU up, 71-68, with 2:23 left.
With 36 seconds remaining, the Eagles Angelo Warner made a pair of free throws, narrowing the gap to oen. Then the Governors committed a turnover only to have Morehead State return the favor with 26 seconds left.
Morehead then fouled Will Triggs with 11 seconds left. Triggs missed the front end of the two-shot foul but sank the second, giving APSU a 72-70 lead.
Turner missed a jumper with as time was winding down, but Drew Kelly, the grandson of former APSU coach Lake Kelly, grabbed the rebound and put it in with two seconds left, sending the game to overtime.
APSU never trailed in the extra session but another Turner three pointer tied it the first time at the 2:42 mark—it was his fifth three pointer after intermission. But that three was answered with one by walk-on point guard Jeremy Purvis, who had five points in the extra session.
Morehead cut it back to one with 1:18 remaining before Triggs again was fouled. This time he made the first of the two-shot attempt, but missed the second to make the score 81-79.
Morehead State’s Maurice Lewis-Briggs missed a long three, but the Eagles grabbed their 20th offensive rebounds, with Taarig Muhammad scoring on a layup with 28 seconds left.
APSU called time out and planned to work a play off a screen for Betran. Morehead State, however, double-team Betran who finally worked his way free enough to let loose with a fall-away three—the buzzer sounding moments after his release—to give APSU the much-needed victory.
Betran and junior forward Will Triggs had 20 points for the Govs while Campbell added 14. Campbell and Betran combined for 11-of-11 at the free throw line against the nation’s most foul-prone team.
Redshirt sophomore Thomas Greer scored a career-high 11 points off bench, including a trio of three pointers as he went a perfect four-of-four from the floor.
Turner ended with 19 points while Kelley added 16 and Milton Chavis 15 as the Eagles placed five players in double figures.
APSU, which held a 21-19 halftime rebounding lead, were hammered on the boards after intermission, being outrebounded 26-14, including 14 offensive rebounds.