Murray State
Chicago State
Victor Pours In A Career-High 35 Points As MSU Stays Unbeaten At 7-0
12/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Senior forward Cuthbert Victor continues to make his case as one of the top players in the nation after pouring in a career-high 35 points as the Murray State Racers improved to a perfect 7-0 on the season with a 100-80 win over Chicago State tonight at the Regional Special Events Center in Murray, Ky.
The game was the second for MSU as a part of the Pittsburgh Holiday Classic, while the victory is the Racers' 10th-straight at home dating back to last season.
Victor, a native of St. Croix, Virgin Islands, was an amazing 13-of-16 from the field while pulling down eight rebounds to go with five blocked shots and three steals in 29 minutes of action. Through seven games, Victor has missed just 18 of 73 shots from the field and is shooting 75.3-percent overall.
The Racers have now scored at least 92 points in five of their seven games, while this is MSU's second-straight 100-point effort.
Senior forward Antione Whelchel added 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while freshman forward Shawn Witherspoon chipped in with a career-high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.
Overall, the Racers were 36-of-64 from the field for 56.3-percent and held a 39-24 rebounding advantage on Chicago State (1-6).
After a close first half ended with the Racers and Cougars tied at 43-43, MSU used an 18-3 run during an 8-minute stretch of the second half to take command for good at 63-52 with 10:05 left in the game.
Trailing 49-45 early in the second half, Whelchel knocked down a pair of free throws with 18:03 to go in the game to start the MSU run. After the Racers tied things up at 51-51 with 15:26 to go, another pair of Whelchel free throws, this time with 15:08 left, put MSU in front for good.
After a Craig Franklin layup pulled the Cougars to within nine at 70-61 with 7:28 to go, MSU's Rick Jones knocked down a pair of free throws to push the margin out to 11 (72-61) and CSU never cut the margin to single digits the rest of the way. The Racers' largest lead of the game was 22 on three different occasions in the final two minutes.
The Racers continue to show an unselfishness with the basketball dishing out 25 assists on the night while turning it over just 12 times.
Up next, the Racers host Southern Illinois on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 7:15 p.m. at the Regional Special Events Center in Murray, Ky., in what could be an early-season showdown of unbeaten teams. SIU currently sits 5-0 with one game to play prior to next week's game.
POST-GAME COMMENTS
MSU head coach Mick Cronin:
"I've got to give Chicago State a lot of credit. We knew they'd come out ready to play and that's what they did. They're very aggressive, and they play a little bit of an unconventional style. They came at us with a lot of dribble penetration and that's not one our strengths defensively. I didn't want to fall back into a zone defense because I wanted to see how we could handle it. This was good for us. It's tough to trap and press a team that's quicker than you, and I give Chicago State a lot of credit for handling what we threw at them."
"It's easy to say that we were sluggish or not ready to play, but Chicago State was really ready to play. They played with no fear and that's because they've been in some tough environments this year."
"It wasn't tough to figure out who to pass the ball to tonight. Cuthbert played like he had Superman's cape on, and he finished so strong. He reminds me of former DePaul player Quentin Richardson with the way he plays. As his coach, I can tell you that I really believe he's making his case as the best player in the nation at this point in the season."
"I learned just the other day that ESPN The Magazine is doing a feature on three of the top players in the nation who people may not be aware of, and fortunately, they've selected Cuthbert as one of the three. What's even more amazing about him is that he's just 20 years old. I guarantee you there are at least 10 to 20 freshman in the nation that are older than him because so many guys go to prep school out of high school. He's a 20-year old senior, and he's definitely showing what he can do."
"I told the guys that if we want to be in a position for an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament in March, the next two games (against Southern Illinois and Pittsburgh) are pivotal in that. You only get so many chances to play against teams in the Top 40 in the RPI, and because of those limited opportunities, you have to seize them when you can."
"From what I've been told by (assistant coach Ryan Wolf), Southern Illinois has great guard play and plays excellent team defense. It'll probably be a test of styles. We're both undefeated, but we're going about it differently. Obviously, we're more of an up-tempo team, but it will be a chore for us to defend their motion offense. We've got some seniors that haven't beaten SIU, and I'm sure they'll be very hungry."
MSU senior forward Cuthbert Victor:
"I just wanted to win the game. Things are going really good for us right now, and I just wanted to keep it going. I'm not worried about scoring. I try to be unselfish and do what I can for my team."
On the upcoming SIU game:
"I haven't beaten SIU since I've been here, and I take it as a personal challenge. I want to come out and do my best, and hopefully, it'll work out for us."
