MONDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 76, Austin Peay 64
Morehead State 86, @Tennessee State 70
EASTERN KENTUCKY 76, AUSTIN PEAY 64
RICHMOND, Ky. - An 8-0 run to start the second half fueled Eastern Kentucky’s 76-64 win over Austin Peay on Monday at McBrayer Arena.
Austin Peay led for much of the first 13 minutes of the game. A tip-in by Chris Freeman put the visitors on top 20-15 with 8:35 left in the opening stanza. Isaac McGlone answered with a three point shot to begin an 11-3 run capped by another triple from Ja’Mill Powell to pull the Colonels ahead by three, 26-23.
EKU (17-10, 9-5 OVC) never trailed again. A McGlone steal and pass to Timmy Knipp for a dunk would send Eastern into the locker room at the half with a three-point advantage, 33-30.
The Colonels essentially took control of the game by holding Austin Peay scoreless for the first 4:29 of the second half. The Governors (7-21, 2-12 OVC) turned the ball over three times as EKU rolled off eight unanswered. Four straight by Eric Stutz capped it and put Eastern in front by 11, 41-30, with 15:55 left to play.
Eastern had four players score in double digits. Stutz, Knipp, Powell, and Denzel Richardson combined for a total 57 of the 76 Colonel points. Stutz led the way with a game-best 20 points. Richardson made three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points off the bench.
Freshman guard Paul Jackson tallied a career-high seven assists and only one turnover. McGlone had six points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds.
Eastern turned 18 Austin Peay turnovers into 19 points.
The closest the Governors would get was five, when a tip-in by Assane Diop finished off an 8-0 spurt of their own to get within 58-53. Ed Dyson and Josh Robinson were the leading scorer’s for APSU with 13 apiece.
Eastern shot 51 percent from the field and 43 percent from behind the arc while Austin Peay shot 39 percent from the field and 33 percent from the three-point line.
MOREHEAD STATE 86, TENNESSEE STATE 70
NASHVILLE - Seniors Angelo Warner and Karam Mashour combined for 40 points and 16 rebounds to power the Morehead State men's basketball team to an 86-70 Ohio Valley Conference victory over Tennessee State on Monday evening at the Gentry Center.
The Eagles improve to 13-16 overall, 8-6 in league play and 7-9 on the road. The Tigers, who have lost six straight games, slip to 5-24 overall, 2-12 in conference action and 5-7 at home. MSU sweeps the season series and moves to 35-30 all-time versus TSU.
Warner knocked down 7-of-11 from the floor and 5-of-7 from the free-throw stripe to finish with 21 points, nine rebounds and three assists. The performance was his 16th of 20-or-more points as an Eagle. He also moved into 10th all-time at MSU with 1,480 points.
Mashour drilled 7-of-13 from the field and 4-of-5 from the foul line to finish with 19 points and seven rebounds. The effort was his 15th this season of 10-or-more points. He continues to pace the Eagles in scoring (14.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 rpg) during OVC play.
Junior Brent Arrington added 15 points and five steals for Morehead State, while senior Billy Reader contributed 13 points. Arrington made 4-of-7 from the floor and all six free-throw attempts, while Reader missed just one shot from the field in seven attempts.
The Eagles posted scoring advantages of 32-7 off the bench, 40-26 in the paint and 10-2 on the fast break. Morehead State handed out 17 assists and limited itself to 11 turnovers. Tennessee State was credited with just nine helpers and committed 16 miscues.
Junior Xavier Richards collected a game-best 23 points for Tennessee State on 7-of-11 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. Junior Marcus Roper and senior Jay Harris added 12 points each. Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the game.
Morehead State tallied a 33-26 rebounding advantage, including 10-6 on the offensive end. The Eagles are +96 in total rebounds, +68 in offensive boards and +29 in second-chance points over their last 15 contests. MSU has only been outrebounded once during the stretch.