RUSTON, La. — The American men’s basketball team turned 22 turnovers into 24 points and scored a 51-46 non-conference victory over Morehead State on Sunday afternoon at the Thomas Assembly Center. The game was part of a four-team Coaches vs. Cancer Classic round robin.
American, which is the defending Patriot League Tournament champion, improves to 3-2 overall and 2-0 on a neutral floor. The Eagles, who compete in the Ohio Valley Conference, slip to 2-4 overall and 1-1 on a neutral court. It was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Morehead State gave the ball away 11 times in each half en route to its season-high total. American converted the miscues into 10 points before the break and 14 in the second half. MSU had committed just 56 turnovers through five games (11.2), compared to 75 last season (15.0).
“I’m really disappointed with the way we played today,” Head Coach Sean Woods said. “We didn’t play with enough mental toughness and were way too careless with the ball. You can’t have 22 turnovers and expect to win. Almost half of American’s points came from our turnovers.”
Morehead State made a season-high 46 percent (19-of-41) from the field, including 55 percent (11-of-20) in the first half, but had a season-low in attempts due to the turnovers. American converted on 42 percent (17-of-40) from the floor, but drilled just 36 percent (8-of-22) before intermission.
“I thought we played pretty well defensively,” Woods said. “American runs a complex offense, and we handled it pretty well. If you take away American’s 24 points off turnovers, they end up with 27 points for the game. We forced some turnovers, too, but didn’t turn those into many points.”
Morehead State grabbed its biggest lead at 30-20 with 17:56 to play, but American finished the contest on a 31-16 surge. MSU led for nearly 25 minutes, while AU was in the driver’s seat for less than nine minutes. The weekend finale featured just six ties and four lead changes.
American senior Pee Wee Gardner was held scoreless in the first half, but finished with a game-high 12 points on 4-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Junior Jesse Reed and senior John Schoof added 10 points apiece for AU, which had only six players register a point.
Senior Karam Mashour led Morehead State with 11 points and nine rebounds, while senior Billy Reader contributed 10 points and seven boards. Senior Angelo Warner and junior Brent Arrington collected nine points apiece for MSU. Warner entered the day with double figures in 11 straight tilts.
“We have three very good guards, but they combined for 15 turnovers today,” Woods said. “We didn’t show much discipline on offense and didn’t maximize our possessions. This was the first time this season where our turnovers were a problem, but it’s still something we need to correct.”
Morehead State will fly home on Monday and get ready for Wednesday’s trip to regional rival Marshall. Tip-off from the Henderson Center is set for 8 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised by the American Sports Network. MSU wraps up the week on Saturday against Kentucky Christian.
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