MOREHEAD, Ky. — Senior Karam Mashour posted his third Division I double-double, with a game-high 21 points and career-best 14 rebounds, to power the Morehead State men’s basketball team to a 72-57 Ohio Valley Conference win over Tennessee State on Thursday evening at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles, who have won four of their last five contests, improve to 11-14 overall, 6-4 in league play and 4-6 at home. The Tigers fall to 5-19 overall, 2-7 in conference action and 0-13 on the road. Morehead State also improves to 34-30 in the all-time series against Tennessee State.
Mashour, playing in his 27th tilt at Morehead State, finished with the most rebounds of any Eagle this season. He drilled 9-of-16 from the field and handed out a team-high four assists in 37 minutes. The native of Israel is averaging 14.4 points and 8.6 rebounds over his last seven games.
“I’m proud of Karam,” Head Coach Sean Woods said. “He had a big game tonight, but we need that on a consistent basis. There aren’t many four men (power forwards) in our league who can keep up with Karam. He can shoot, drive to the basket and he’s becoming a better passer.”
Junior Brent Arrington added 13 points for Morehead State, while senior Angelo Warner and junior Anthony Elechi contributed eight each. Senior Billy Reader registered a career-best five blocks for the Eagles. MSU had seven different players with at least one board and one assist.
Morehead State never trailed in the contest. The Eagles opened up a 17-point advantage shortly before halftime and led by 10 at intermission. Tennessee State trimmed the deficit to single digits multiple times and 59-53 with 4:02 to play, but MSU closed out the affair on a 13-4 run.
Tennessee State was limited to 36 percent (20-of-56) from the field, including just 25 percent (8-of-32) in the opening half. The Tigers converted on just 27 percent (4-of-15) of their long-range attempts. Morehead State, meanwhile, knocked down 53 percent (28-of-53) from the floor.
“It’s great to get a conference win, especially in front of our fans,” Woods said. “Our defense won us this game, especially in the first half. We’ve been pretty good at limiting the opponent’s scoring this season. I like our chances when we get in a halfcourt game, and we showed that tonight.”
Morehead State posted advantages of 19-13 in assists, 8-4 in blocks, 14-0 in fast-break points, 36-28 in paint points and 34-30 in rebounds. The Eagles, who pace the OVC in rebounding margin, are +66 in total boards over their past 11 games. MSU has only been outrebounded once during that stretch.
Freshman Christian Mekowulu canned 7-of-10 from the field and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe to finish with a team-best 20 points for Tennessee State.
Morehead State wraps up its three-game homestand on Saturday when it faces OVC East Division leader Belmont at approximately 7:30 p.m. ET. The contest will follow MSU and Tennessee State in women’s basketball at 5:15 p.m. All fans are encouraged to wear black on “Blackout Night” at Johnson Arena.
Both games will be streamed live and free of charge on the OVC Digital Network. Both affairs will also be available via the Eagle Sports Radio Network, with Chuck Mraz and Jason Blanton calling all the action. For more, visit MSUEagles.com, Twitter.com/MSUAthletics or Facebook.com/MSUEagles.
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