Murray State University Athletics
Racers working hard to prepare for showdown with Salukis
12/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Murray State Racers travel to SIU Arena in Carbondale, Ill., on Saturday, looking for their first road win of the season when they face regional rival Southern Illinois.
The Racers (3-2) lost on Dec. 4 against Western Kentucky 82-72, allowing the Hilltoppers to shoot 65.2 percent from the field in the second half. Sophomore guard Trey Pearson led the team with 26 points, six rebounds and six assists.
"We've been trying to work on maintaining our consistency and our focus throughout our practices, from beginning to end," said MSU head coach Mick Cronin. "Hopefully, that will carry over into playing 40 minutes a game.
"We've made adjustments on the offense to try to do a better job of taking care of the ball, especially against Southern Illinois. It will post major problems for us with SIU if we turn the ball over."
The Salukis' (4-2) previous game was on Dec. 7, losing at Arkansas-Little Rock 70-53, allowing UALR to shoot 60 percent for the game. Sophomore guard Jamaal Tatum led the Salukis with 11 points in the losing effort. The Salukis are on a two-game losing streak, losing to Hawai'i on Nov. 29.
"I assume they will be upset about the two losses," Cronin said. "They will bring an unbelievable intensity on the defensive end. They are older and more physical than we are, so we have to step up our maturity level and intensity level to make sure they don't manhandle us."
Southern Illinois is led by reigning MVC Player of the Year Darren Brooks. Brooks, an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American who is averaging 14.3 points per game. He had his 40-game streak of scoring double-digit points snapped against UALR, when he scored eight points.
Brooks, a member of the MVC All-Defensive Team the past two seasons, is averaging 4.0 steals per game, which ranks third in the nation in that category. Brooks led the MVC in scoring (16.5 ppg) last season, and he placed in the top 10 in steals, rebounds and assists.
“He's a quiet leader,” said SIU head coach Chris Lowery. “He has a great work ethic, and he shows how hard you have to work to be good.”
The Salukis are also led by Tatum (11.5 ppg) and senior forward LaMar Owen (10.2 ppg, 7.0 rebounds per game).
The Racers are led by Pearson, who is averaging 18.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.2 steals per game. Junior forward Issian Redding is next in points for the Racers, averaging 9.2 points per game, while also averaging 5.6 rebounds per contest.
Last season, the Racers beat the Salukis 68-64 in the Regional Special Events Center. Murray State rallied from a 13-point deficit at halftime to get the victory behind Cuthbert Victor's 19-point, 15-rebound performance. Stetson Hairston, SIU's only other returning starter from last year's 25-5 team besides Brooks, led the way for the Salukis with 14 points.
Murray State leads the all-time series between these teams at 14-13. However, in Carbondale, the Salukis hold an 8-6 edge over the Racers. The last two times the Racers have visited SIU Arena, in 2000 and 2002, the Racers have been defeated by an average of 27 points, suffering 85-56 and 94-79 losses.
Tipoff for Saturday's game is at 2:05 p.m. The game can be heard locally on WFGE (103.7 FM, Murray) and through the Teamline link at www.GoRacers.com. The game will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on MSU TV-11 Saturday at 10 p.m.
