Morehead State men's basketball is the first Division I team to officially put its dancing shoes on. Riley Minix (6'7''-G) collected 26 points and Drew Thelwell added 21 as the Eagles defeated Little Rock 69-55 in the OVC Tournament Championship game at the Ford Center Saturday night.
The OVC co-champion and third-seeded Eagles defeated the second and top seeds on back to back nights to win the program's second OVC title in the last four seasons. The 26th victory of the season set a program record for wins as the Eagles head into March Madness at 26-8. MSU enters the NCAA field with six consecutive wins.
The Eagles had three players score in double figures, led by Minix, who had 26 points for the second straight game, seven rebounds and two steals. Thelwell tacked on 21 points and two steals and Kalil Thomas (6'5''-G) helped out with 13 points, four assists and three steals.
Minix became the fourth player in program history to eclipse 700 points for a season and now ranks third in season points with 706.
The Morehead State offense made hay from three-point land, knocking down nine threes on 24 attempts. Thomas hit three treys for the Eagles in the contest, upping his program record single-season mark to 103 triples.
After playing to a 4-4 tie, Morehead State went on a 17-0 run with 15:45 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Jordan Lathon (6'5''-G-2000), to take a 21-4 lead. The Eagles then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 32-27 advantage. Morehead State capitalized on seven Little Rock turnovers in the period, turning them into 10 points on the other end of the floor.
The Trojans proceeded to tie things up at 39-39 before Morehead State went on an 8-0 run to seize a 47-39 lead with 10:36 to go in the contest. The Eagles kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 69-55 win. Morehead State shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting six shots from deep to score 18 of its 37 points.

OVC Tournament Final: Little Rock - Morehead State 55-69

OVC Tournament Semifinals:
Little Rock - Western Illinois 82-57
UT Martin - Morehead State 78-84

OVC Tournament Quarterfinals:
Morehead State - SIUE 78-63
Western Illinois - Tennessee State 61-59

OVC Tournament First Round:
Tennessee State - Southern Indiana 78-64
SIUE - Eastern Illinois 68-57

Courtesy of ovcsports.com

All-Tournament MVP: Riley Minix (6'7''-G) of Morehead St.
Player of the Year: Riley Minix (6'7''-G) of Morehead St.
Defensive Player of the Year: Drew Cisse (6'11''-C) of W.Illinois
Freshman of the Year: Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (6'7''-F) of UALR
Coach of the Year: Darrell Walker of UALR

All-OVC First Team 2024

Minix

Sears

Crews

Robinson

Chaplin

Lathon

First Team
Riley Minix (6'7''-G) of Morehead St.
Jordan Sears (5'11''-PG) of UT Martin
Jacob Crews (6'7''-G) of UT Martin
Khalen Robinson (6'0''-PG) of UALR
Jamir Chaplin (6'4''-G-2000) of UALR
Jordan Lathon (6'5''-G-2000) of Morehead St.
DaMarco Minor (6'0''-PG) of SIUE
Tiger Booker (5'10''-PG) of EIU
Jeremiah Hernandez (6'4''-G) of S.Indiana
Drew Cisse (6'11''-C) of W.Illinois

All-OVC Second Team 2024

Cole

Mitchell

Myers

Muhammad

Brown

Second Team
Keenon Cole (6'7''-F) of Lindenwood
Makhel Mitchell (6'10''-F/C-2000) of UALR
Ryan Myers (6'1''-G) of W.Illinois
Issa Muhammad (6'9''-F) of UT Martin
Christian Brown (6'6''-G-2000) of Tennessee St.

OVC All-Newcomer Team 2024

Minix

Crews

Chaplin

Robinson

Lathon

All-Newcomer Team
Riley Minix (6'7''-G) of Morehead St.
Jacob Crews (6'7''-G) of UT Martin
Jamir Chaplin (6'4''-G-2000) of UALR
Khalen Robinson (6'0''-PG) of UALR
Jordan Lathon (6'5''-G-2000) of Morehead St.

OVC All-Tournament Team 2024

Minix

Thomas

Thelwell

Robinson

Sears

All-Tournament Team
Riley Minix (6'7''-G) of Morehead St.
Kalil Thomas (6'5''-G) of Morehead St.
Drew Thelwell (6'3''-G) of Morehead St.
Khalen Robinson (6'0''-PG) of UALR
Jordan Sears (5'11''-PG) of UT Martin