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LOGAN, Utah--An impressive performance in a loss Monday night to Basketball Travelers Invitational host Utah State positions the Eagle nicely for their final two games of the three-game tournament in Logan, Utah.
MSU (4-5) will face Weber State Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. ET and conclude the three-day event with Cal State Fullerton at 7:30 ET.
Despite the 79-72 loss to the Aggies on Monday, Morehead State was in a position to win the game and recovered from two double-digit deficits, one in the first half (11 points) and one in the second half (15 points) to be within three with 17 seconds remaining. MSU hustled up and down the floor, drawing praise from coach Donnie Tyndall and the Utah State personnel and resulting in four players scoring in double digits, the second time this season four MSU players have tallied 10 or more. Most impressive of these four was Steve Peterson, who did not miss a shot, hitting 7-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 at the line to lead MSU with 16 points.
The good showing was not only a confidence builder coming off of a quality win over ETSU, it also proved MSU can be successful against an efficient offense like Utah State. That will be key on Tuesday as Weber State runs a very similar system as USU, due to the Wildcat coach Randy Rahe having been a long-time Aggie assistant for Stew Morrill. Three Weber State players average in double figures, led by Damian Lillard’s 18.5 points per game. The Wildcats shoot the ball extremely well, sinking field goals at a 43.2 percent clip, but don’t defend the floor very well. WSU opponent are hitting from the field 44.4 percent of the time.
Weber State is 6-5 overall, including wins over Utah, Southern Utah and Sacramento State and scored the first win of the four-team Basketball Travelers Tournament on Monday, defeating Cal State Fullerton, 82-71. Morehead State will need to shift its defensive focus to the perimeter to focus on the Wildcats strong, quick guards Lillard and Franklin Session.
