GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay men’s basketball team raced out to 12-0 advantage over the first six minutes and held Morehead State to 33 percent from the field en route to a 66-50 non-conference win on Wednesday evening at the Resch Center.
The Phoenix, which competes in the Horizon League, improves to 8-2 overall and 4-0 at home with its seventh victory in eight contests. The Eagles, who play in the Ohio Valley Conference, slip to 4-9 overall and 1-6 on the road with their fifth consecutive defeat.
Green Bay, which won its 2014 regular-season league championship, entered the day seventh in the NCAA’s official RPI. It was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Morehead State missed its first 10 field-goal attempts and didn’t score until the 13:34 mark of the opening half. The Eagles were limited to 27 percent from the floor before intermission. MSU hit 8-of-30 before the break and 9-of-21 in the second period.
“We had another pretty solid effort on the defensive end, but we must find a way to become more efficient on the offensive end,” Head Coach Sean Woods said. “Our offensive execution was lacking again tonight, and that needs to get better in a hurry.”
MSU was whistled for 28 fouls, while UWGB committed just 16 infractions. The Phoenix was +14 on free-throw attempts and +8 on makes from the charity stripe.
“Our first five or six shots from the field were bunnies,” Woods said. “We fell behind by 12 right away because we missed lay-ups, tip-ins and easy jumpers. We battled down the stretch, but you can’t fall behind like that against a quality opponent on the road.”
Senior Keifer Sykes paced Green Bay with a game-best 17 points on 8-of-8 from the free-throw line, while junior Carrington Love added 12. Junior Jordan Fouse pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for UWGB, while Love distributed a team-best four assists.
Junior Brent Arrington led Morehead State with 13 points on 6-of-6 from foul line, while senior Kareem Storey added nine points. Junior Marcus Fuggins registered a team-high seven rebounds for the Eagles, while Storey was credited with a club-best four helpers.
Green Bay tallied advantages of 38-20 in the paint and 20-7 off turnovers. The Phoenix led from start to finish with its biggest cushion of 19 points coming at the 5:59 mark.
“I’m disappointed from a mental perspective and hustle standpoint,” Woods said. “I’m not one to make excuses, but our team appeared to hit a wall for the first time this season. We’ve had a very difficult schedule so far, but we need to push through that.”
Morehead State returns to Johnson Arena on Friday when it entertains Atlantic Sun Conference opponent Northern Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET. The contest will be webcast free of charge on the OVC Digital Network and broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network.
