Published: January 22, 2008 04:15 pm         

4 in-a-row

Homestanding wins over Samford, Jacksonville State have Tyndall's bunch rolling

MOREHEAD, Ky. - With home wins over Samford and Jacksonville State, the Morehead State University men's basketball team is on a four-game winning streak in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Leon Buchanan and Maze Stallworth scored 20 points each to lead Morehead State to an 85-70 Ohio Valley Conference win over Jacksonville State Saturday afternoon in Johnson Arena. The win was MSU's fourth in a row and gave the Eagles their longest winning streak since the 2002-03 season when they were conference co-champions.

MSU, now 8-9 overall and 6-4 in the OVC, also got double-doubles from Kenneth Faried and Nikola Stojakovic. Faried's 13 points and game-high 13 rebounds gave the freshman his second consecutive double-double. Stojakovic had 11 points and a game-high 10 assists that moved the senior point guard into ninth place on MSU's all-time assist list.

Jacksonville State, now 4-14 overall and 2-8 in the league, had four players score in double figures. Jeremy Bynum had 15 points, Nick Murphy 13 points, J.J. Wesley 12 points and DeAndre Bray 10 points.

"I believe our guys met Jacksonville State's physical nature of play today and did some good things," said MSU Head Coach Donnie Tyndall. "Our front line was good again, Leon Buchanan, Maze Stallworth and Kenneth Faried all played well. Nikola Stojakovic had 11 points and 10 assists and committed only one turnover. I know I brag on him all the time, but that's a great stat line.

"We closed the first half with a good run. Then, we stayed aggressive in the second half when they would make some runs at us. Everyone contributed."

MSU scored the final 10 points of the first half and took a nine point lead, 37-28, to the locker room at intermission. The game featured eight ties and six lead changes in the first half. The Gamecocks could get no closer than five points in the second half.

For the game, the Eagles hit 47.3 percent (26-of-55) from the field to 46.4 percent (26-of-56) for Jacksonville State. Led by Faried, MSU won the rebound battle 39-to-33. The Eagles forced 17 JSU turnovers, while committing only nine miscues.



Eagle Men Win Third in a Row, 62-46 Over Samford

MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State Eagles led from start-to-finish in a 62-46 Ohio Valley Conference win over Samford Thursday (Jan. 17) evening in Johnson Arena.

MSU won its third in a row and is 7-9 overall, 5-4 in the OVC. Freshman Kenneth Faried had game-high totals of 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Eagles. Jamyron Steward had 12 points, Maze Stallworth added 11 points and senior point guard Nikola Stojakovic scored a career-high 10 points, handed out six assists, made two steals and had only one turnover in 32 minutes played.

Samford, now 7-10 overall and 4-5 in the league, was led by Joe Ross Merritt who scored 12 points on four three-point field goals. Trey Montgomery added 10 points for the Bulldogs.

"I thought it was a great team win," said MSU Head Coach Donnie Tyndall. "We guarded pretty well, holding them to 41.7 percent shooting and forcing 16 turnovers. And, we did a great job on the offensive glass. We missed only 23 shots and got offensive rebounds on nearly half (10) of those misses.

"Early in the game, Kenneth Faried was a beast. He had six offensive rebounds and three steals in the first half. And, when they cut the lead to one point early in the second half, Nik Stojakovic took the game over, scoring three straight baskets for us."

The Eagles jumped out to an 18-4 lead in the first six minutes of the game, then led by eight points, 30-22, at halftime. The Bulldogs scored the first seven points of the second half and cut the lead to one on two occasions. But after Stojakovic's three straight field goals, MSU quickly built the lead back to double figures and pulled away to lead by as many as 20 points.

MSU hit 13 of its 18 second half field goal attempts (72.2 percent) and shot 54 percent (27-of-50) for the game. The Eagles won the rebound battle, 28-to-22, and had only nine turnovers to Samford's 16 miscues.

MSU begins a two-game OVC road trip at Southeast Missouri on Thursday (Jan. 24) with a 7:30 p.m. CST (8:30 p.m. EST) game in the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau. Jacksonville State will begin a two-game home stand against Austin Peay, also on Thursday.