MOREHEAD, Ky. — Morehead State junior guard Skyelar Potter recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-best 14 rebounds Friday night, but the Eagles could not fully recover after seeing a big scoring flurry from SIUE in the first half, and the Cougars handed the Eagles a 69-65 setback at Johnson Arena.
MSU faltered to 4-5 overall and 1-2 in the OVC, while SIUE won its league opener and moved to 3-4 overall.
Potter had a tough night shooting the ball at 3-for-10, as did the Eagles overall (24-of-67, 36 percent), but he grabbed nine defensive boards and five offensive caroms to complete the double-double. On the defensive end, the Eagles could not slow down the Cougars’ pace as the visitors shot 50 percent (26-of-52) and hit eight three-pointers. Sidney Wilson paced the visitors with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists. And the Eagles could not find the consistent pace from outside the arc at 7-of-29.
KEY MOMENTS
– Freshman forward Johni Broome scored the game’s first four, and sophomore forward Julius Dixon canned a triple to get MSU on top 7-0 in the first 2:32 of the game.
– But, the Cougars went on a 12-0 run, capped by Cam Williams’ transition three-pointer at 14:09, as they pulled ahead 12-9.
– Wilson hit a three-pointer at the 12:07 mark of the opening half as SIUE made it a 19-5 run.
– MSU trailed 25-14, but junior guard DeVon Cooper’s jumper at 7:14 capped a 7-0 run as the Eagles crept to within 25-21.
– Junior guard KJ Hunt, Jr., hit a bucket with 26 seconds left in the half that set the deficit for the Eagles at 35-30.
– Sophomore Ta’lon Cooper dropped in a bucket with 13:19 left in the game that tied it at 47. That capped a quick 7-0 run for the home Eagles.
– With 11:11 left, junior forward LJ Bryan’s free throw had the Eagles within 49-48, but the Cougars proceeded to outscore the Eagles 13-4 in the next five minutes.
– Potter hit a three with 11 seconds left to set the deficit at just 68-65, but Williams hit one of two free throws to thwart any late comeback bid.
KEY STATS
– The Eagles, who rank in the top three in the league in rebound margin, won that battle again today, 42-30.
– Broome led the Eagles with 14 points, his fifth double-figure scoring effort in his first college season.
– DeVon Cooper and Hunt scored 11 each. Cooper now leads MSU with seven double-figure outputs this year.
– Morehead State had the turnover bug bite again, with 18 floor mistakes. SIUE also had trouble holding onto the ball with 17 miscues. A handful of turnovers came on offensive fouls as well.
– With five blocked shots, MSU now has four straight games with at least five rejections and five games overall with 5+ swats this year.
UP NEXT
Morehead State plays its final non-conference game of the year at the ACC’s Clemson Monday. The matinee against the 24th-ranked Tigers tips off at Noon ET.