Murray State
Southern Mississippi
Racers Dominate Southern Miss 94-54 To Move To 4-0 On The Season
11/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Led by six players scoring in double-figures and 40 minutes of constant pressure, the Murray State men's basketball team moved to 4-0 on the season with a dominating 94-54 win over Conference USA member Southern Mississippi today at the Regional Special Events Center in Murray, Ky.
Senior foward Antione Whelchel and senior guard Rick Jones led the way for the Racers with 16 points each. Jones was 6-of-8 from the field, including 4-of-6 from behind the three-point line, while Whelchel was 6-of-9 from the field and 2-of-4 on three-pointers to go with eight rebounds.
Junior forward Kelvin Brown and senior forward Cuthbert Victor added 14 points each, while junior guard Adam Chiles chipped with 13 points and a career-high 11 assists. Freshman Shawn Witherspoon had a career-high 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting as the Racers shot a blistering 61.7-percent (37-of-60) from the field.
After holding a solid 36-23 lead at the half, MSU completely dominated the second half of play outscoring the Golden Eagles 58-31 over the final 20 minutes, including 31-8 over the final 7:38 of the game. The Racers were 23-of-33 from the field for 69.7-percent in the second half.
Though things were tied on three different occasions early on, the Racers never trailed Southern Miss in the game. After USM tied the game at 6-6 with 16:39 left in the first half, the Racers regained the lead for good at 8-6 on a Brown jumper with 15:54 to go.
The game stayed very tight over the next 10 minutes, but when the Golden Eagles pulled to within four at 24-20 with 5:38 left in the half, Witherspoon scored on a putback to start a 12-3 run to close the first 20 minutes. Witherspoon's three-pointer with 4:24 to go in the first half to put the Racers up 32-20 and USM never got within single digits again.
MSU continued its run out of halftime as Jones buried a three-pointer just seven seconds into the second half. Layups by Whelchel and Chiles pushed the Racers' lead out to 43-23 with 18:25 left in the game and USM never got any closer than 16 the rest of the way.
During the run at the end of the first half and the start of the second, MSU held the Golden Eagles without a made field goal for 6 minutes, 33 seconds and outscored them 19-3 to push the lead from four points (24-20) with 4:10 left in the first half to 20 points (43-23) with 18:25 left in the game.
MSU also used its defensive pressure to consistently create easy scoring opportunities turning 19 USM turnovers into 22 points while outscoring the Golden Eagles 24-6 on fast break points.
Despite USM's size advantage, the Racers outrebounded the Golden Eagles 38-30 led by Whlechel and Victor, who teamed for eight rebounds each, while Brown and Witherspoon added seven rebounds each. MSU also blocked six Golden Eagle shots as senior center Andi Hornig, Victor and Witherspoon had two swats each.
The stingy Racer defense held USM to just 1-of-9 shooting from beyond the three-point line, while MSU was a blazing 9-of-16 for 56.3-percent.
The 40-point victory is the first for MSU since the Racers defeated Indiana State by 46 (85-39) on Dec. 19, 2002.
Up next, the Racers take to the road for the first time this season as they travel to Ft. Worth, Texas, to take on TCU of Conference USA. The Racers and Horned Frogs tip off at 7:05 p.m. CT at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
POST-GAME COMMENTS
MSU head coach Mick Cronin:
"If you told me before the game that we'd outrebound Southern Miss by eight, I would of told you right then that we'd win the game. You can have a great gameplan, and you can be completely prepared, but if you don't rebound, everything else is thrown out the window. They (USM) missed 39 shots and only got 13 offensive rebounds, and that's monumental for us because of they're size."
"We had our best practice of the year yesterday, and our kids did a nice job today. You can't fool kids. Our guys have been pointing to this game since last Saturday's win over Wagner. I mean no disrespect to the two teams we played in between these two, but our guys were really ready for this one today."
"Southern Miss thrives on forcing turnovers and creating easy baskets. We didn't give them a lot of transition chances or many easy baskets, and that was a big key today."
"Our guys preparation and focus for this game was excellent. I was more nervous for our first three games than I was for this one because we knew what Southern Miss was going to do. We wasn't as prepared for those other games because those teams brought a lot more unknowns into the game. Obviously, I'm pleased with our effort today."
"It's still going to take a while for our style of play to become like second nature to our guys, but we're starting to get there. The test will be when teams start using some new approaches and different approaches than we're used to seeing. We can't let teams take us out of our style, and that's what we're going to face as the year goes on."
"We've got a pair of big games coming up next week. We play at another CUSA team on Wednesday at TCU, and then, we get a big rival in Western Kentucky next Sunday. How we handle a hostile environment and those tough road fans will be important. But, I'm a big believer that the game is played between the lines, no matter where you're at. There's nothing better than winning on the road and seeing all of the other team's fans walking up the isles before the game is over. Hopefully, we will become a good road team because that's a big key to winning an OVC title, which is one of our team goals."
MSU senior forward Antione Whelchel:
"Our team has worked extremely hard to get in shape because we want to beat teams by doing what we did today. Nobody on our teams cares who is scoring the points. We just want to win, and beating a Conference USA team is important to us."
"Coach Cronin wants us to be an up-tempo team and press for 40 minutes. Our first 10 guys can get in there and play. We want to keep the pressure on our opponents for 40 minutes and never let down. Today, we were able to do that and get a big win."
Southern Miss head coach James Green:
"Murray State did a great job today. They did a great job of pressing us and forcing the tempo up and down the floor. Coach Cronin had them ready to play, and they'll win a lot of games the rest of the year if they play like they did today."
