Mercer Drops Tuesday Game at Morehead State

Tuesday, November 14

Morehead, Ky.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

1-2,0-0SoCon

Morehead State

2-2,0-0OVC

Mercer

Morehead St.

Photo by: Talia Campione

11/14/2023 8:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State registered a 22-for-25 performance at the free throw line and used a 10-2 run early in the second half to pull away for good as the Eagles snapped a string of consecutive series losses to the Mercer men's basketball team with a 74-66 win over the Bears on Tuesday evening in Ellis Johnson Arena.

The contest marked the first leg of a 5-game stretch away from home for the Bears (1-2) who will kick off the campus round of the Emerald Coast Classic on Friday when they take on Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Morehead State (2-2) has now captured both of its home outings in 2023-24.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 66, Morehead State 74
RECORDS: Mercer (1-2, 0-0 SoCon); Morehead State (2-2, 0-0 OVC)
LOCATION: Morehead, Ky. (Ellis T. Johnson Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

Mercer started off the night up 2-0 after Jalyn McCreary sank two free throws just seconds into the game and the lead reached four points after he hit a jumper a few minutes later. After briefly surrendering the lead, a 3-pointer by Jalen Cobb tied the score at 11. The team shot 50 percent from behind the arc but only 62 percent from the free throw line, while Morehead went 10-for-10 from the charity stripe on the way to lugging a 38-30 lead into the intermission.

2ND HALF

Jah Quinones drained a three just 90 seconds into the second period to bring the Bears to within one, 39-38, but that was as close as they came for the rest of the game. The Eagles quickly extended their lead to nine by the 15-minute mark. Jake Davis drained a 3-pointer and Jah Quinones made a layup to make it a two-possession game, 49-45, but the Eagles took a game-best 12-point lead with 4:44 left.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

+ Jah Quinones scored 10 of his team-high 12 points in the second half, and finished his night with a 4-for-9 clip from the field and a 3-for-4 showing at the charity stripe.
+ Jalyn McCreary chipped in 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting in 15 minutes of action.
+ Robby Carmody added 10 points as well on 3-of-5 field goal shooting and a 4-for-6 effort from the free throw line.

NOTABLES

+ Tuesday's triumph helped the Eagles knot their series with the Bears up at three games apiece. The home team has now won five of the six games in the series, with Mercer capturing the only road series win back in 2002.
+ The Bears shot 44.4 percent from the field in Tuesday's setback, marking the second-straight outing that MU has connected on at least 44 percent of its field goal attempts. The Orange & Black exhibited 45.8 percent shooting in last week's win at Chicago State.
+ Mercer registered 13 steals on Tuesday evening in Kentucky – their most pickpockets since collecting the same amount of swipes against Milligan on Nov. 11, 2022.

UP NEXT

The Bears will travel to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama on Friday at 7 p.m. CT/8 p.m. ET. That game will mark the first of three games for the Bears in the Emerald Coast Classic which resumes and concludes next weekend (Nov. 24-25) in Destin, Fla.

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BACK THE BEARS

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