Murray State
Georgetown (Ky.)
Racers Move To 9-1 After A 78-64 Win Over Georgetown College
12/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Senior forward Antione Whelchel led four Racers scoring in double-figures as the Murray State men's basketball team moved to 9-1 on the season with a 78-64 win over NAIA power Georgetown College to close out the Pittsburgh Holiday Hoops Classic at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Racers, off to their best 10-game start since opening the 1998-99 season at 9-1, finish the Pittsburgh Classic 3-1 with the lone loss coming to undefeated and nationally-ranked Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
Whelchel, a native of Gainesville, Ga., was 7-of-8 from the field as the Racers shot a blistering 59.2 percent from the field on 29-of-49 shooting. Junior guard Adam Chiles added 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, while senior guard Kevin Paschel chipped in with 12 points and three assists.
Senior forward Cuthbert Victor had another stellar night with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds to go with three assists and two blocked shots.
MSU raced out to a 45-31 halftime lead over Georgetown (8-4) behind a strong 14-0 run midway through the first 20 minutes.
After the Tigers pulled to within three points at 23-20 with 10:24 to go, the Racers scored the next 14 points over a stretch of 3 minutes, 17 seconds to make it 37-20 with 5:58 left. Whelchel led the way for MSU in the run with five points, while Chiles and senior guard Rick Jones had three points each.
In the second half, Georgetown pulled to within seven at 50-43 with 13:50 left, but the Racers answered as Paschel hammered home a three with 13:32 to go to spark a 17-6 run to put the game away.
MSU held Georgetown to just 40 percent from the field on 24-of-60 shooting, while also turning 23 Tiger turnovers into 25 points for the Racers.
The Racers were a strong 7-of-14 from behind the three-point line led by Paschel and senior forward Chris Shumate as each finished 2-of-3 on three's. Shumate also finished with a team-high four assists and two steals on the day.
Up next, MSU returns to action following Christmas on Sunday, Dec. 28 at Delaware State. Tip off between the Racers and Hornets is set for 1 p.m. CT in Dover, Del.
POST-GAME COMMENTS
MSU head coach Mick Cronin:
"We came out extremely aggressive on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. We had 28 deflections at halftime and our goal for each game is 40. We really wanted to guard against the three-point shot today because we knew that's how we could get upset against Georgetown. If we had rebounded the ball today, we'd have won by 30, but that didn't happen. Georgetown is a tough, scrappy ball club and I've got to give them credit for coming at us."
"Antione Whelchel played well for us today. Antione's been living a little too much behind the three-point line and that's probably a little bit of our fault as a coaching staff. We had a talk about that and Antione did a great job of attacking the basket today. If he's attacking the basket, we're a much more effective team on the offensive end."
On the Racers' 9-1 record:
"I'm very happy with it. I'm extremely pleased with the way we rebounded and bounced back from the loss to Pittsburgh on Saturday night. Our kids handled some criticism from me and my staff, but it was really more coaching than criticism. The kids took the experience and learned from it. We played hard today, though we didn't rebound it the way I wanted, but I couldn't be happier with our record right now."
On the upcoming schedule:
"The guys will have a few days off and they'll return to Murray on Christmas night for practice. We've got Delaware State coming up on the 28th (of December) and that'll be a tough game for us on the road. They've beaten Wagner already this year, and it'll certainly be a formidable test for us, especially on the road after the Christmas break."
