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NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Second-seeded Morehead State men’s basketball used a stifling defense and prolific first-half perimeter shooting to soar past sixth-seeded Tennessee Tech, 76-47 in the Ohio Valley Conference semifinal at Bridgestone Arena.
The Eagles (23-9) advance to the title game to face top-seeded Murray State, 55-51 winners over Eastern Illinois in the first semifinal. Saturday’s Championship, which tips off at 8 p.m. Eastern, will be the first time Morehead State has met the Racers in the finals.
"Murray State's front line is very good. They are very balanced, unselfish and play together," Morehead State coach Donnie Tyndall said. "It may be the best Murray State team in history, but if we win tomorrow night, we might be the best Morehead State team in history."
Senior Maze Stallworth swished four 3-pointers en route to a 24-point performance, surpassing the combined 20 points he scored in the two regular season meetings with the Golden Eagles. In all, five MSU players drilled 3-pointers, totaling 9-of-20, including 5-of-9 in the first half.
Morehead State held Tennessee Tech to 9.1 percent from long range, allowing just one 3-pointer by the Golden Eagles. MSU also forced 20 turnovers, 13 of which came off steals. No Tech player scored in double digits.
“I thought our defense was a key to the win,” said Tyndall. “They hit only one of 11 three-point attempts.”
Kenneth Faried, Demonte Harper and Terrance Hill each had 10 points for Morehead State and Stallworth and Harper each had three assists. Faried led all players with nine rebounds.
“We had some other players step up tonight,” said Tyndall. “This is the deepest team that I’ve had here at MSU. They do not care about scoring, they care about winning.”
MSU’s biggest defensive stand came mid-way through the first half when it held Tech without a field goal for a 10-minute span. TTU connected on free throws, but it wasn’t enough and Morehead extended a one-point advantage to an 18-point lead with 4:10 left in the first half. The game never got any closer than 15 points on TTU’s next 3-pointer. The 29-point final margin was the largest it was all game.
Four TTU players finished with nine points, Alfred Jones, Elijah Muhammed, Jud Dillard and Zach Bailey.
The Eagles are 3-1 all-time in championship games, including last year’s win.