LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Interstat) — George Marshall scored 28 points and Jon Carroll added 22 as Morehead State built a massive first-half lead and then withstood a furious second-half rally from Arkansas-Little Rock to secure a 76-70 victory in an Ohio Valley Conference men’s basketball game Thursday night at Jack Stephens Center.

The Eagles, who led by as many as 23 points in the opening period, saw their advantage whittled down to a single possession in the final minute before closing the game on a 7-0 run from the free-throw line to seal their fourth consecutive win.

Morehead State improved to 19-12 overall, while Arkansas-Little Rock dropped to 11-19.

The game’s defining stretch came early, as the visiting Eagles unleashed a devastating offensive and defensive performance in the first half. Marshall, a 6-foot-4 guard from Jackson, Mississippi, set the tone, hitting four 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes. His back-to-back triples, the second assisted by Chase Dawson, pushed the Eagles’ lead to 13-4 just over three minutes into the contest.

Arkansas-Little Rock struggled profoundly against Morehead State’s defensive pressure, committing 10 first-half turnovers and shooting a frigid percentage from the field. The Trojans went scoreless for stretches of over four minutes on two separate occasions, allowing the Eagles to build an insurmountable cushion.

Carroll, a 6-foot-7 forward from Tallahassee, Florida, provided a consistent interior complement to Marshall’s perimeter assault. His layup off an assist from Josiah LeGree with 12:14 left in the half extended the lead to 15-6. The advantage ballooned to 37-14 after Marshall connected on his fifth 3-pointer of the half, assisted by LeGree, with 3:31 remaining.

The Eagles took a commanding 37-24 lead into halftime, having held the Trojans to just 24 points on 30% shooting. Marshall had 19 points at the break, nearly outscoring the entire Arkansas-Little Rock roster.

The second half, however, was a stark contrast. The Trojans emerged from the locker room with renewed energy, spearheaded by Johnathan Lawson and Cameron Wallace. A 13-4 run to open the half, capped by a Lawson 3-pointer, cut the deficit to 41-37 and forced a Morehead State timeout just over four minutes into the period.

The Eagles momentarily stemmed the tide, but Arkansas-Little Rock kept charging. A driving layup by Kachi Nzeh with 13:31 remaining brought the Trojans within two points at 42-40, marking a 26-5 run spanning the halves and sending a jolt through the crowd of 1,978.

Morehead State responded with resilience. Carroll answered with a dunk on the ensuing possession, and the teams traded baskets in a tense back-and-forth. The Trojans finally drew even at 52-52 on a pair of free throws by Cameron Wallace with 6:11 to play, completing a comeback from a 23-point deficit.

The Eagles never relinquished the lead, however. Tyonne Farrell’s tip-in dunk put Morehead State back ahead, and after Truman Claytor’s 3-pointer gave Arkansas-Little Rock a brief 57-56 edge—its first lead since 2-0—the Eagles immediately responded. George Marshall drove for a layup to reclaim the lead for good at 58-57 with 3:27 left.

The Trojans stayed within one possession until the final minute. Trailing 69-67 after a Braxton Bayless layup with 17 seconds left, Arkansas-Little Rock was forced to foul. Marshall, who had been held in check for much of the second half, calmly sank two free throws with 11 seconds remaining. After a quick foul, Chase Dawson hit two more to extend the lead to six, effectively ending the contest.

Marshall finished 9 of 18 from the field, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range, and added five rebounds and three steals in 33 minutes. Carroll was efficient inside, making 10 of his 15 field goal attempts and grabbing nine rebounds.

Arkansas-Little Rock was led by Lawson’s 15 points, while Wallace contributed 13 points and nine rebounds. Bayless and Joseph Thomas each scored 12 points, with Thomas adding 11 in the second half to fuel the rally.

The game’s total of 146 points fell under the betting over/under line of 140.5. According to Interstat’s ELO system, Morehead State entered with a narrow 50.9% probability to win.

The victory completed a regular-season sweep for the Eagles, who defeated the Trojans 78-64 in Kentucky on Dec. 16. Morehead State will conclude its regular season on Saturday. Arkansas-Little Rock is scheduled to host Southern Indiana on Saturday.