Loss to Kent State Leaves Morehead State Hungry

The Morehead State Eagles jumped out to a 9-point lead over Kent State at home on Sunday and appeared close to sending the Golden Flashes home with a tough road loss. The tables quickly turned however, and the Eagles found themselves with a 63-57 loss and a disappointing 1-3 record heading into Ohio Valley Conference play.

"We're just not where we need to be," Morehead State head coach Donnie Tyndall explained after the game. "I have told our guys all along that we have a target on our backs this season and they're all coming after us hard."

The loss to the Golden Flashes did not seem to be the biggest problem on Tyndall's mind.

"We're not where I thought we'd be. I thought we'd be a tougher team. We have not been a good practice team," he stated. "Our team is talented enough to do good things if we become a better practice team."

The Eagles open OVC play with a two-game road trip. They travel to UT-Martin on Thursday and then head to Murray State on Saturday for a matchup of arguably the two most talented teams in the conference.

Morehead State Notebook:

- Senior Maze Stallworth became the 28th player in MSU history to reach the 1,ooo-point club during Sunday's game

- Notre Dame transfer Ty Proffitt is out 2-4 weeks with a stress fracture

- David Terrell did not play Sunday and I was told he has been suspended indefinitely; no reason was given

- Kenneth Faried continues to be one of the most impressive big men in the state of Kentucky; he came up with 12 points and 15 rebounds against the Golden Flashes; he is a mid-range jumper away from being a solid NBA contributor, in my opinion

- Brandon Shingles set a new career high with 10 assists against Kent State

- Steve Peterson set a new career high with 15 points against Kent State

Postgame Quotes:

Geno Ford, Kent State Head Coach

On the key stretch in the game that led to a Kent State victory:

"I felt like there were two big plays. The first was Rod's steal in the high post and then about two plays later, we got another steal. During that stretch, they weren't able to get a shot off and I felt that we were able to get control of the game at that point."

On MSU's Kenneth Faried:

"We had to get stops. We had to play zone because we couldn't stop Faried."

"We won't be renewing the contract. We've seen enough of him. After he graduates in two years, we'll reschedule then. He changes the game in a lot of ways."

"His footwork has improved. The Morehead staff has done an excellent job in developing his game. He's put time in and they've developed him."

Donnie Tyndall, Morehead State Head Coach

On the game:

"I thought both teams played hard. Kent State is one of the best mid-major programs in the country."

"They played 38 minutes of zone defense...we go 6-24 from the three-point line."

"The turnovers are disappointing."

On his thoughts of what ultimately won/lost the game:

"I think there are two areas that really determined the outcome. One, they get to the foul line 26 times, we get there 12. Second, we settled for contested jumpshots."

On Maze Stallworth:

"I'm very proud of what Maze has accomplished."

“When he was a freshman, we were at Murray State and there was a player being honored for his 1,000th point and I turned to him and told him if he worked hard and listened, someday I’d be giving him a 1,000-point ball. It’s amazing how far he’s come at this point.”