MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Morehead State men’s basketball team will travel to Missouri Valley Conference foe Illinois State on Monday night for its first road test of the season. Tip-off is set for 8.00 p.m.
The Eagles (1-0) opened their season on Friday night at home, downing NAIA opponent Cincinnati Christian, 87-51. The Redbirds (0-1) are looking to bounce back after falling in their opener at San Diego State, 71-60.
The contest will air live on ESPN3. It will also broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network with Chuck Mraz calling all of the action. The radio network includes WIVY-96.3 FM and several affiliates throughout eastern Kentucky. A live audio stream can be found on MSUEagles.com and the Eagle Empire app.
IN THE OPENER
The Eagles downed NAIA opponent Cincinnati Christian, 87-51, in their opener at home on Friday night. Senior Brent Arrington led the way with 14 points, while junior Ronnye Beamon added 12. Junior Corban Collins had 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Freshman Malik Maitland added 8 points and 9 assists off the bench in his debut.
LAST YEAR’S ROAD OPENER
Last year, the Eagles opened their season on the road and fell to UNLV at the Thomas & Mack Center, 60-59. The Rebels used an 18-3 run in the second half to propel them to victory. Only four active players played (Arrington, Dicent, Gaines, Elechi) against UNLV last year. Arrington finished with 12 points on 4-for-13 shooting.
LOOKING TO START 2-0
With a win on Monday night, the Eagles will start the season off at 2-0 for the first time since 2013. That season also marked the last time that they won their first road game. On Nov. 12, 2013 at East Tennessee State, the Eagles downed the Bucs, 71-63.
SERIES VS. ILLINOIS STATE
The Eagles are 1-6 against Illinois State in their history and have lost six straight. On Jan. 10, 1972, MSU downed ISU, 104-94, at Morehead State. MSU is 0-4 against the Redbirds in Normal, Ill. They last met on March 19, 2014 in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational, as ISU defeated MSU, 77-67. That game took place in Normal.
RETURNING STARTERS
Morehead State returns two starters from last year’s team, including senior Brent Arrington, a Preseason All-OVC selection who averaged 11.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.9 steals/game last season. The other returning starter is junior Corban Collins. Seniors Lyonell Gaines and Anthony Elechi also return after making a combined eight starts.
THE SENIORS
The Eagles return four seniors in Brent Arrington, Anthony Elechi, Lyonell Gaines, and Jared Ravenscraft. Arrington was the only player to start all 34 games for Morehead State, while Gaines started seven times and Elechi started once. Gaines posted four double-digit scoring games early in the season before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
NEW ARRIVALS
MSU welcomes eight new players this season, including two true freshmen (Malik Maitland, Lamontray Harris) and six junior college transfers (Ty’Quan Bitting, Keion Alexander, DeJuan Marrero, Xavier Moon, Treshaad Williams, Ronnye Beamon).
THE MAN IN CHARGE
Sean Woods, who has been associated with six Division I men’s basketball programs, is in his fourth season as the head coach at Morehead State. It is also his eighth season as a Division I head coach and 13th year of coaching at the collegiate level. Woods guided Morehead State to a 17-17 overall record and 10-6 Ohio Valley Conference mark in 2014-15.
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