Minix scores 26, Thelwell 21 as Morehead St. beats UALR 69-55 in OVC title game

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) Riley Minix scored 26 points and Drew Thelwell added 21, including 13 in the final 8-plus minutes, and Morehead State blew a 17-point lead before the Eagles beat No. 1 seed Arkansas-Little Rock 69-55 Saturday night in the championship game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

Third-seeded Morehead State (26-8), which played in the championship game for the third time in four seasons, set a program record for single-season wins and won its sixth OVC tourney. The Eagles will make their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance, their first since 2021.

Little Rock scored nine of the first 12 second-half points to take a 36-35 lead with 15:44 to play and Bradley Douglas hit a 3-pointer 2 minutes later that made it 39-all. Minix ripped off seven consecutive points to spark an 18-5 run that gave the Eagles a 57-44 lead with 6:59 remaining and UALR trailed the rest of the way.

Douglas led Arkansas-Little Rock (21-12) with 14 points, Robinson scored 13 and Jamir Chaplin 11.

UALR missed six consecutive shots and committed three turnovers during a 6-plus minute scoring drought in the first half as the Eagles went on a 17-0 run to take a 21-4 lead midway through the first half. The Trojans got right back in it with a 14-0 run of their own to trail 21-18.

Morehead State shot 50% (25 of 50) from the field while limiting the Trojans to 41% (23 of 56) shooting and outscoring UALR 10-2 from the free-throw line.

UALR won the lone regular season meeting between the teams, who finished tied with UT Martin atop the conference standings at 14-4.

--- Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here --- AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball