[DataKing]

MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (12-10, 7-7)

at
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE REDHAWKS (11-11, 11-4)

Heartbreak Hotel Yet Again. Eagles Miss Another Buzzer-Beater, Fall to Redhawks 67-65.

February 8th, 2007

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO - For the third time in their last four games, the Morehead State Eagles had their fans on the edge of their seats, with a last-second chance to win a game or at least force an overtime period. Unfortunately for Coach King's team the end result was the same. This time around it was senior guard Quentin Pryor who had a chance at last-second heroics. But Pryor's jumper missed wide of the mark, and the Eagles failed in their bid to sweep the conference-leading Redhawks, 67-65.

King's team has proven to be very strong out of the gate all season long, and Thursday night was no exception. Behind strong play from Pryor, Morehead State jumped out to an early 8-1 lead on the road. Easy whistles from the referees played into the Redhawks' hands, however, and with 13:47 to play in the half senior forward Shaun Williams was forced to sit with two personal fouls. But despite having their team captain riding the bench, the Eagles surged, and an 8-0 run later in the half pushed their lead to double-digits, 29-18. The Redhawks stormed back on a 10-0 run of their own, however, with junior forward Brandon Foust hitting four straight jumpers, trimming the Eagles' lead to one. At the break, Morehead State nursed a narrow 38-35 lead. Quentin Pryor led all scorers with 16 first-half points, but center Clinton Reisz was getting practically no help from his teammates on the glass, and the Eagles were out-rebounded in the half, 18-8.

The Redhawks continued their dominance on the boards into the second half, and senior guard Terrick Willoughby caught on fire for the home team. Still, it took until the 13:21 mark for Southeast Missouri State to grab their first lead of the game, 48-47. The lead switched hands five times over the next two minutes before Morehead State once again grabbed the lead and held it, thanks largely to the efforts of Shaun Williams. But a jump-hook by freshman forward Herbert Terry with 4:19 to play gave the Redhawks a 63-61 lead that they would not relenquish. With 1:26 to play and trailing by two, 67-65, Quentin Pryor missed a layup (granted, a difficult one) that would have tied the game. Offensive rebounding by the Redhawks at the other end meant that Morehead State had only time for one chance at a last-second win or tie, but Pryor's jump-shot was slightly off to the left of center and the Eagles lost another heart-breaker.

Scoreboard
Final - Show Me Center                  1H     2H    Fin
-Morehead State (12-11, 7-8)            38     27     65
-SE Missouri State (12-11, 12-4)        35     32     67

Starters

Morehead State       Yr     Ht      Pos     SE Missouri State     Yr     Ht
Brandon Callahan     JR     6'0"     PG     Paul Paradoski        JR     6'0"
Quentin Pryor        SR     6'4"     SG     Terrick Willoughby    SR     6'4"
Vincent Crutcher     FR     6'4"     SF     Brandon Foust         JR     6'6"
Shaun Williams       SR     6'6"     PF     Herbert Terry         FR     6'7"
Clinton Reisz        SO     6'10"     C     Michael Rembert       JR     6'9"

Team Statistics
Morehead State                                          SE Missouri State
      65                   Points                               67
      22                   Field Goals Made                     25
      46                   Field Goals Attempted                50
    0.478                  Field Goal %                       0.500
       3                   3 Pointers Made                       5
      11                   3 Pointers Attempted                 11
    0.273                  3 Pointers %                       0.455
      18                   Free Throws Made                     12
      21                   Free Throws Attempted                14
    0.857                  Free Throw %                       0.857
      10                   Assists                              14
      12                   Turnovers                            18
       9                   Team Fouls                           11
      16                   Total Rebounds                       29
       3                   Offensive Rebounds                    9
      13                   Defensive Rebounds                   20
      13                   Steals                               10
       3                   Blocks                                0
      28                   Points in the Paint                  24
      11                   Bench Points                          8
       6                   Second Chance Points                  3
      18                   Fast Break Points                    12

Morehead State Player Statistics

Name                            Pts   Reb   Ast   Stl   Blk   TO   PF   Min
Quentin Pryor                    18     3     2     1     0    1    1    31
Brandon Callahan                 13     0     2     1     0    1    1    32
Shaun Williams                   10     1     0     0     1    0    3    18
Clinton Reisz                     9     7     0     3     1    1    1    29
Vincent Crutcher                  4     3     4     1     0    3    0    28
Dan Penick                        4     1     0     1     1    0    1    16
Andreas Coleman                   3     0     0     2     0    1    0    19
Nikola Stojakovic                 2     0     0     3     0    2    0     9
Cordaryl Ballard                  2     0     1     0     0    3    1    10
Jamyron Steward                   0     1     1     1     0    0    1    13

Coach's Notes

• The "Big 3" for us continue to produce (Pryor, Williams, and Callahan), and Reisz keeps working on the defensive end, but the 3-spot remains a problem. Crutch and Jam have both pretty much disappeared as of late. A pep-talk may be in order for one of these guys.
• Despite having 13 points, I'm not happy with Callahan's play right now. Two assists is not going to cut it for our starting point-guard.
• Calling Quentin's number for the last shot of the game was my mistake. He'd only managed two points in the second half. Callahan would have been the better option.
• We remain in 7th place in the conference standings. With three of our last five conference games on the road, I'll be happy with an even conference record and an invitation to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament (only the top eight teams participate).