THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Samford 77,
Morehead State 72 (OT)
SAMFORD 77, MOREHEAD STATE 72 (OT)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A valiant 45-minute effort by the Morehead State men's basketball club came up just short in overtime at Samford Thursday. The host Bulldogs used a late 10-3 run in the extra five minutes to close the game and defeat the Eagles 77-72 at the Pete Hanna Center.
Morehead State slipped to 3-7.
The Eagles forced Samford into 19 mistakes and turned that into 23 points. Junior guard Jordan Walker registered a team-best 22 points – his fifth 20-point effort and second in as many games. Senior guard A.J. Hicks scored 11 and handed out a game-best seven assists before fouling out a minute into the overtime period.
Sophomore forward James Baker earned his first start of the season and just the third of his career, responding with a career-best 12 points and a team (and career) high eight rebounds.
The teams combined for eight lead changes in the final five minutes of regulation. Following a three-ball by Samford's Brandon Austin with 29 seconds left, Baker laid in a bucket with 11 seconds remaining for a 64-63 Eagle lead. Josh Sharkey drove and sank a bucket with five ticks left for another Bulldog one-point cushion, before Hicks was fouled on a drive to the basket with 0.4 left.
Hicks missed the first free toss but nailed the second for overtime.
A pair of free throws by freshman Malik Riddle gave the visitors a 69-67 lead with 2:56 left in the extra frame, but then Samford scored the next 10 before Walker canned the final triple with a second left.
The Eagles trailed 20-19 with 6:22 left in the first half, but a 16-4 run catapulted the visitors into an 11-point halftime cushion (35-24). MSU forced 13 Samford mistakes in the opening half.
Walker scored 12 by the half, including a coast-to-coast reverse lay-in off the glass as time expired.
Morehead State shot 37 percent (27-of-52) on the night. Austin finished with 25 points and 10 boards for the Bulldogs.