Morehead State senior Drew Kelly, who posted career highs of 40 points, 12 rebounds, 14 field goals and eight three-pointers on Thursday, has been named Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the period of Dec. 16-22.
Kelly, a 6-foot-6 senior, has been recognized by both the league office and College Sports Madness.
Kelly, a native of Franklin, Tenn., helped the Eagles to a 120-83 win over South Dakota. It was MSU's third-highest scoring total against a Division I opponent in school history (85 seasons). He drilled 14-of-23 from the field, 8-of-12 from long range and 4-of-4 from the foul line.
Morehead State's point total marked the Ohio Valley Conference's best effort since UT Martin scored 121 on Nov. 14, 2008. The Eagles canned a season-high 17 three-pointers and handed out a season-best 32 assists. MSU also drilled its most field goals (44) since Nov. 18, 2005.
Kelly is averaging 7.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.5 field goals and 0.4 three-pointers in 102 games as an Eagle. He started the game with scoring highs of 13 (season) and 26 (career). His effort marked Morehead State's most points since Ricky Minard tallied 43 on Feb. 15, 2003.
Kelly is averaging 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds through 13 contests this season. He is shooting 43 percent from the field, 41 percent from three-point range and 69 percent from the charity stripe.
Morehead State is 8-5 this year, despite playing eight of its first 13 contests away from Johnson Arena. The Eagles visited seven cities and traveled approximately 10,000 miles (7,500 by plane and 2,500 by bus) from Nov. 11 through Dec. 5.
Morehead State returns to action on Monday at Southeastern Conference foe Tennessee. Tip-off from Thompson-Boling Arena is set for 7 p.m. ET. The tilt will be televised nationally by ESPNU and broadcast on the Eagle Sports Network.
