Eagles, Colonels set for key OVC matchup

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There will be a lot on the line when the Colonels play host to long-time rival Morehead State at 11 a.m. today in a nationally televised game on ESPNU.

Free doughnuts, rally towels and T-shirts ? courtesy of Baptist Health and the Richmond Register ? will be given out while supplies last. Saturday is also ?Battle of the Greeks? day at McBrayer Arena.

Both teams have three losses in the Conference and stand one game behind both Murray State (8-2) and Belmont (9-2) in the chase for a conference championship.

The Colonels will be looking to sweep the Eagles after defeating them 76-55 in Morehead on Jan. 11.

In that game, EKU held the Eagles to only five second-half field goals, none during a 10:51 stretch, which allowed the Colonels to pull away for the win.

Corey Walden led the way for the Colonels with a game-high 19 points. He also had four rebounds, four assists and six steals.

Glenn Cosey added 18 points and five assists, while Orlando Williams also was in double figures with 14 points.

Angelo Warner (17 points) and Brent Arrington (11 points) led Morehead.

EKU and Morehead State rank third and fourth in the OVC in scoring. The Colonels enter the game averaging 78.7 points per game, while the Eagles are averaging 77.6 points per game.

The Colonels have won three-straight games, including Tuesday?s 74-63 non-conference win over Chattanooga at home. It was the 22nd consecutive home non-conference win for EKU.

Morehead is coming off a 65-54 win over Jacksonville State on Saturday.

Warner leads the Eagles in scoring at 17 points per game, while he is second in rebounding, pulling down 4.9 boards per game.

Arrington is averaging 12 points per game, while 6-foot-11 center Chad Posthumus contributes 10.1 points and a team-best 11.5 rebounds per game. -

 

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Morehead St. vs. EKU - Round 2



Rival men?s basketball teams from Eastern Kentucky University and Morehead State University will meet for the second time this season on Saturday in front of a live national audience on ESPNU.

Tipoff is scheduled for 11:02 a.m. The live radio broadcast is available in the Richmond area on WCYO 100.7 FM, and can be heard worldwide on EKUSports.com. The game can be seen on the internet and on mobile devices on WatchESPN.com where available.

Free doughnuts, rally towels and t-shirts ? courtesy of Baptist Health ? will be given out while supplies last. Saturday is also ?Battle of the Greeks? day at McBrayer Arena.

With four teams in the hunt for the Ohio Valley Conference Championship, this game could essentially eliminate one from contention. Murray State (8-1) has the best record in the OVC and Belmont (8-2) is right behind. Those two teams play each other on Thursday in Nashville.

Eastern Kentucky (17-7) and Morehead State (15-9) are within striking distance of the leaders. The Colonels enter the game 7-3 while the Eagles are 6-3. The winner also has an edge over the other for a top-2 spot in the division and the tournament bye that comes with it.

EKU and Morehead State are third and fourth in the OVC in scoring at 78.7 and 77.6 points per game. Eastern is second in the OVC in scoring defense (69.8 ppg). MSU has allowed four of its last five opponents to score 74 or more points.

When these two teams met on Jan. 11, Eastern held the Eagles without a field goal for a stretch of 10 minutes and 51 seconds in the second half and slowly pulled for a 76-65 win in Morehead.

Corey Walden led the way for EKU, scoring a game-high 19 points while adding four rebounds, four assists and six steals. Glenn Cosey added 18 points and five assists while Orlando Williams came off the bench to tally 14 points. Angelo Warner paced Morehead State with 17 points. Brent Arrington contributed 11 points.

The Eagles connected on only five field goals in the second half, but converted 21-of-23 free throws (91.3 percent) in the second stanza to stay in the game.

The Colonels have won three in a row, including a 74-63 victory at home over Chattanooga on Tuesday. Eastern forced the Mocs into 24 turnovers and with the win set a new program record by notching its 22nd consecutive home non-conference victory. Cosey led four Colonels in double figures with 19 points.

Cosey, the reigning OVC Player of the Week, leads the team and is third in the conference in scoring at 19.1 points a night. Walden averages 13.3 points and 3.8 rebounds.

Eastern (9.2 spg) leads the conference in steals. Morehead State (8.3 spg) is third. EKU has the third-best turnover margin in the nation (+7.0). Morehead State averages 16 turnovers per game, and had 20 in the first meeting this season.

Morehead State beat Jacksonville State, 65-54, on Saturday. Warner led the Eagles with 14 points. Chad Posthumus came off the bench to grab 12 rebounds and score eight points in 20 minutes. MSU out-rebounded the Gamecocks by 19 and held JSU to 39 percent shooting from the field.

The trio of Warner, Arrington and Posthumus lead the Eagles. Warner, a 6-foot-2 junior guard, leads the team in scoring (17.0 ppg), is second in rebounding (4.9 rpg). Arrington, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard, averages 12 points per contest. Posthumus, a 6-foot-11 senior center, contributes 10.1 points and a conference-best 11.5 rebounds per game.

Morehead State?s opponents average 24 fouls per game. The Eagles have gone to the free throw line 707 times, compared to 557 trips for the Colonels.

MSU guard Kareem Storey has missed the last three games with a pulled hamstring. He is questionable for Saturday?s game. The junior was averaging 6.3 points and a team-best 5.5 assists per game.