Published: February 05, 2008 03:01 pm         

MSU Eagles stay unbeaten at home

Donnie Tyndall’s club likes playing in the Ellis T. Johnson Arena. With Saturday’s 88-66 win over Kentucky Christian, a Division II member of the National Christian College Athletic Association, Morehead State improved to 9-0 at home and tied the school’s best home record to start a season since 1972-73.

The Eagles have four more home games this season and it could be as many as five if they host the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. The school record for home wins in a season is 13, set in 1956-57.

Morehead State (11-10) got a surprising test from Kentucky Christian (17-9), an opponent from nearby Grayson, Ky. The 22-point loss matches the closest the Knights have come to beating their I-64 neighbors in five tries. Kentucky Christian also lost by 22 (89-67) in 2004-05.

“Our goal was to keep the score under 20 points and this is the closest we have ever come (in the series),” said second-year KCU head coach Will Shouse.

The Knights offered the Eagles an unusual challenge and Tyndall was pleased with how his players responded.

“It was a tough game to play,” he said. “They play with five guards and all our bigs had to move out from the basket. They drive and kick and we did a good job guarding the three. They hit 36 percent from there. Tonight we were able to play a lot of guys balanced minutes. Some of our guys got some rest they need. Everyone played well.”

He was especially pleased with the opportunity to play his entire roster and to come out of the game injury-free.

“They are a well-coached and disciplined team. They are a tough match-up. They were competitive and played hard,” Tyndall added. “They big thing was that we were able to play a lot of guys and no one got injured.”

Morehead State’s 88 points were a season high. The Eagles hit 53.2 percent from the field and had a 54-20 edge in rebounding.

Akeem Scott scored the game’s first points, when he nailed a 3-pointer 37 seconds into the contest, to give KCU its only lead. The Eagles answered by scoring the next 10 points over a stretch of just over three minutes to take control.

Kentucky Christian closed to within eight points twice from there (13-5 and 15-7), but MSU eventually pushed the margin as high as 22 points (46-24) twice just before the end of the first half.

However, Matt Hackenberg hit a half-court shot at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 19 at the break (49-30).

“Whenever we play Division I games, we try to make the game as ugly as possible. I thought being down 19 at the half was not bad,” said Shouse. “We want to contain their runs and not let them run away with the game.”

Morehead State shot 58.8 percent from the field in the first half and held the Knights to just eight rebounds.

The hosts stretched their advantage to 24 points (56-32 with 17:25 left in the game) after a Nikola Stojakovic jumper.

However, the visitors rallied and an Eric McKee 3-pointer cut the deficit to 16 points (62-46) with 11:40 to play. But it was as close as the visitors would get in the second half. Over the last 10 minutes of the game, the lead rotated between 17 and 24 points, with the peak coming on a John Lamb 3-pointer with 45 seconds to play.

“I am proud of our guys. It would have been easy to quit, but they hung in and battled,” said Shouse.

All 10 Eagles got into the game and scored.

Les Simons took advantage of his opportunity to play 19 minutes and scored a team-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting for Morehead State. He also grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots.

“I showed that I am ready to play. I am showing coach that I am healthy and can play through injury and will be there whenever he needs me,” said the junior forward.

Simons was pleased that he could contribute to the team’s success.

“I had several good defensive stops, followed the ball, helped out on defense and not let my teammates get beat, rebounded and was around the boards,” he added.

Kenneth Faried contributed 12 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Maze Stallworth chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and three assists; while Lamb came off the bench to add 11 points.

T.J. Clark was one of many Eagles to notch career highs in both scoring and rebounding. He finished with seven points and seven boards. Andreas Coleman also had six points and seven rebounds; while Demonte Harper recorded five points, five rebounds and eight assists.

Jamyron Steward finished with seven points and three assists, while Stojakovic added five assists as the team matched its season high in the category with 25.

Kentucky Christian made 39.3 percent of its shots from the field and 36.1 percent from behind the 3-point arc. The Knights also committed five fewer turnovers than the hosts (14 to 19).

“I think we matched up well to their shooters,” said Simons. “We switched on screens and were active all game. I thought that we did that well.”

Scott finished as the game’s leading scorer with 23 points. He made 7-of-15 3-pointers. Demarius Gulley added 15 points, five assists and three steals. Hackenberg registered a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists; and McKee came off the bench to add eight points, six rebounds and four steals.

“Akeem Scott is out All-American. He didn’t shoot all that well today, but he always takes our big shots,” said Shouse. “Matt Hackenberg also played well. He had a double-double. We depend on those two guys a lot. If they play well, we play well.”

Saturday was the National Basketball Coaches Association’s Coaches vs. Cancer, Suits and Sneakers Weekend, and the entire MSU coaching and basketball support staff each wore sneakers along with their suits for the game.