GAME NOTES: Quarterfinal round action of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament begins on Thursday with a clash featuring the fifth-seeded Morehead State Eagles and the fourth-seeded UT Martin Skyhawks at Municipal Auditorium.

The winner of this contest will advance to Friday's semifinal round to take on the top-seeded Murray State Racers.

Morehead State was able to hang on down the stretch in the opening round against Southeast Missouri State, 79-74, thanks to some clutch free-throw shooting. The Eagles, who haven't won the OVC Tournament since the 2011 season, are an even 16-16 entering this second-round matchup.

UT Martin starts its tournament on the cooler side. The Skyhawks lost two of their last three games of the regular season, the latter contest being to potential semifinal opponent Murray State, 73-67. UT Martin ended the regular season with a 10-6 mark in conference play, and an 18-11 overall record.

Morehead State owns the 32-14 all-time lead over UT Martin on the basketball court, but it was the Skyhawks who won the only regular season matchup this year, a narrow 75-72 overtime victory at home.

Morehead State got a strong offensive effort from multiple outlets in Wednesday night's win over Southeast Missouri State. The Eagles connected on 44.8 percent of their field goal tries in the contest, and had four players register a double-digit scoring total. Billy Reader tallied an 18-point, 10- rebound double-double to lead the squad, while Angelo Warner added 16 points. Karam Mashour and Corban Collins each chipped in with 12 points in the team's victory, advancing the fifth seed to the quarterfinals.

Warner entered the OVC Tournament leading the team in scoring with 12.7 ppg, but was part of an offense that typically received scoring in bunches from several different players. Brent Arrington tallied 11.5 ppg, and Mashour was the third double-digit scorer for the team at 10.1 ppg entering the clash against SEMO. Morehead State was averaging 70.6 ppg before the 79-point outburst by the Eagles on Wednesday, which could make the Skyhawks a bit nervous. In the meeting earlier this season between the two sides, Kareem Storey scored 22 points to lead Morehead State, while Warner and Arrington each netted 15 in the overtime thriller as UT Martin hung on to win.

Murray State typically uses a strong offense to get to its opponents, which is how the Racers made it through the regular season unbeaten in conference play. That's how they defeated UT Martin in the season finale as well, connecting on 49.1 percent of their field goals with an 8-of-22 mark from 3- point range. The Skyhawks held a three-point lead at halftime over the Racers, but hit just 36.7 percent from the field in the second half en route to the loss. Deville Smith collected 21 points to lead the team on offense, while Twymond Howard netted 17 points with five rebounds. Marshun Newell grabbed 10 rebounds in the defeat, adding in eight points.

Smith enters the tournament leading the Skyhawks in scoring at 14.0 ppg, also doling out 128 assists and 51 steals on the season. Newell (13.3 ppg), Howard (13.2 ppg) and Alex Anderson (11.3 ppg) round out a group of double-digit scorers for the Skyhawks, who are still missing Myles Taylor (11.1 ppg), out since early December with a sprained left knee. Newell leads the squad with 7.0 rpg, and Smith's 18 blocked shots is another team high. The Skyhawks are netting 69.8 ppg, and are giving up 64.6 ppg to opponents.

Morehead State and UT Martin both rely on a well-balanced offensive attack to take down opponents. But playing on back-to-back days may wear the Eagles down a bit.