[DataKing]

MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (10-7, 5-4)

at
JACKSONVILLE STATE GAMECOCKS (1-14, 1-8)

Imminent Collapse. Eagles Blow 9-Point Lead, Fall to Lowly Gamecocks, 65-56.

January 20th, 2007

JACKSONVILLE, AL - The state of Alabama has been unkind to the Morehead State Eagles over the last few days. On Thursday Coach King's Eagles were trounced by the Samford Bulldogs, 64-44. Today may have even been worse for the visiting team, as they blew a 9-point lead against the lowly Jacksonville State Gamecocks, winners of only one game all season before today. Junior guard Erik Adams led the way for the Gamecocks with 19 points (7-11 FG), and standout senior forward Courtney Bradley had a double-double (11 pts, 11 reb). The Eagles' high scorer was junior guard Jamyron Steward (15 pts, 6-17 FG) and sophomore center Clinton Reisz led all players with 16 rebounds.

Morehead State jumped out to an early 11-3 lead, thanks in part to a pair of layups by junior guard Nikola Stojakovic, who was starting in place of the injured Brandon Callahan. But Jacksonville State, led by the play of senior forward Harold Crow (10 1st-half points) fought their way back, and had worked the deficit down to 20-19 at the 6:31 mark (junior guard Will Ginn missed a free throw that would have tied the game). The remainder of the half was a back-and-forth affair, with a slight edge going to Morehead State. The Eagles went to the locker room with a 33-26 halftime lead.

Shaun Williams started the 2nd half on a high note for the Eagles as he benefitted from a great dish from Stojakovic down low, stretching the Morehead State lead to 35-26. But it was all downhill from there for the visitors. Erik Adams led the Gamecocks on a 12-3 run over the next three minutes, with Courtney Bradley draining a 3-pointer at the 17:05 mark to tie the game at 38-38. Things slowed down a bit after that, and Morehead State went ice-cold from the field, continuing the poor shooting that has plagued the team recently.

By the 11:00 mark, Jacksonville State had stretched their lead to 47-41. The Eagles scratched and clawed their way back to within 2 points, 49-47 with 6:21 to play, but that was all that Coach King's team could muster. Adams and the Gamecocks won the game going away, 65-56. To add insult to injury, freshman forward Dan Penick came up lame for the Eagles late in the game and did not return.

Scoreboard
Final - Pete Mathews Coliseum             1H     2H    Fin
-Morehead State (10-8, 5-5)               33     23     56
-Jacksonville State (2-14, 2-8)           26     39     65

Starters

Morehead State       Yr     Ht      Pos     Jacksonville State     Yr     Ht
Nikola Stojakovic    JR     6'2"     PG     Will Ginn              JR     6'0"
Quentin Pryor        SR     6'4"     SG     Erik Adams             JR     6'5"
Jamyron Steward      JR     6'3"     SF     Harold Crow            SR     6'7"
Shaun Williams       SR     6'6"     PF     Courtney Bradley       SR     6'5"
Clinton Reisz        SO     6'10"     C     Dorien Brown           JR     6'7"

Team Statistics
Morehead State                                          Jacksonville State
      56                   Points                               65
      21                   Field Goals Made                     21
      66                   Field Goals Attempted                55
    0.318                  Field Goal %                       0.382
       3                   3 Pointers Made                       6
      24                   3 Pointers Attempted                 21
    0.125                  3 Pointers %                       0.286
      11                   Free Throws Made                     17
      16                   Free Throws Attempted                21
    0.688                  Free Throw %                       0.810
      14                   Assists                              13
       9                   Turnovers                            11
      17                   Team Fouls                           11
      36                   Total Rebounds                       38
       6                   Offensive Rebounds                    6
      30                   Defensive Rebounds                   32
       9                   Steals                                7
       0                   Blocks                                4
      30                   Points in the Paint                  22
       8                   Bench Points                          8
       6                   Second Chance Points                  4
      18                   Fast Break Points                     4

Morehead State Player Statistics

Name                            Pts   Reb   Ast   Stl   Blk   TO   PF   Min
Jamyron Steward                  15     1     2     0     0    2    1    31
Quentin Pryor                    14     0     4     4     0    1    3    33
Shaun Williams                    9     9     0     2     0    1    1    31
Clinton Reisz                     6    16     0     2     0    2    2    28
Nikola Stojakovic                 4     0     4     0     0    1    2    21
Cordaryl Ballard                  4     2     1     0     0    1    2    16
Brandon Callahan                  3     0     3     0     0    1    2    20
Dan Penick                        1     8     0     1     0    0    2    22
Vincent Crutcher                  0     0     0     0     0    0    1     2
Andreas Coleman                   0     0     0     0     0    0    1     1

Coach's Notes

• Clinton Reisz was an absolute beast today on the defensive glass (15 of his 16 rebounds were defensive). It's nice to see him rounding back into form.
• If you want to know how badly the turned ankle has hindered Brandon Callahan, just look at the line. Nikola Stojakovic out-performed him today. Trust me when I say that Stojakovic is nowhere near the player that Callahan is. Thank goodness Brandon will be full strength soon.
• That being said, it was my decision to start Nikola instead of Brandon, so I have to take at least some of the blame.
• The injury bug continues to bite us. Dan Penick pulled a hamstring late in the game and is going to be slowed down for about 3 weeks.
• The lack of offensive production lately, in particular on the road, has me worried. I'm hoping that a fully healthy Brandon Callahan and Vincent Crutcher will help to alleviate the problem, but more drastic measures may be in order if things stay the way they are.