Murray State
Tennessee Tech
Racers Handle Tech 90-78 Setting Up Saturday Night Showdown At APSU
2/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Senior swingman Chris Shumate and junior forward Kelvin Brown led four Racers scoring in double-figures with 18 points each as the Murray State men's basketball team dispatched of Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee Tech 90-78 tonight at the Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tenn.
The win sets up a showdown Saturday night in Clarksville, Tenn., as MSU takes on Austin Peay in a battle of the OVC's top two teams. Tip off between the second-place Racers and the first-place Governors is set for 7:30 p.m. CT at the Dunn Center.
Before MSU (20-4, 10-1 OVC) could look ahead to the Govs, Tennessee Tech (12-10, 6-5 OVC) stood squarely in the path, but the Racers took care of business thanks to Shumate, Brown and 40 minutes of stellar play from all nine players that saw at least 11 minutes of action.
The Racers were a sparkling 55.9 percent from the field on 33-of-59 shooting led by Brown's 8-of-10 effort and Shumate's 7-of-12 night. Shumate also added seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and one blocked shot, while Brown added five assists.
Junior guard Adam Chiles continued his strong play of late with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field, including a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point range as the Racers were an impressive 9-of-18 from beyond the arc on the night.
Senior forward Antione Whelchel was the final Racer in double-figures with 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting to go with a game-high 12 rebounds, three assists and one steal.
After the first 10 minutes, 30 seconds of action featured four lead changes and three ties, MSU eventually gained control for good at 21-20 on a Shumate three-pointer with 9:27 left in the first half. The Racers stretched the margin out to as much as seven on three occasions before settling for a 36-33 lead at the halftime break.
In the second half, MSU opened the first 4 minutes with an 11-3 run for a 47-36 lead after a Chiles three-pointer with 15:58 to go in the game. From there, the Racers patiently pushed their lead out to as much as 16 at 62-46 after a Brown jumper with 8:53 left.
The Golden Eagles came roaring back to cut the MSU lead down to seven at 71-64 after a Cameron Crisp three-pointer with 5:22 to go, but another Shumate three just moments later halted the comeback attempt and pushed the Racers' lead back to double-digits for good at 74-64.
MSU pushed the lead back out to 16 for a second time at 80-64 on another Brown jumper with 2:34 to go before settling for the final 12-point margin.
The Racers improved to 16-0 on the season when outrebounding their opponent as MSU won the battle on the glass 34-30 led by Whelchel's 12 caroms. MSU also dominated in the paint outscoring Tech 40-20 in the lane.
The Golden Eagles finished the night just 26-of-61 from the field for 42.6 percent, including just 9-of-28 (32.1%) in the first half. Tech was led by junior Willie Jenkins, the OVC's leading scorer, with 27 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the field.
NOTES:
-- With today's 90-78 victory, MSU improves to 18-0 on the season when scoring at least 70 points.
-- Today's meeting was the 155th in the all-time series between MSU and TTU, with the Racers controlling the rivalry 113-42 overall.
-- MSU is now 155-8 since 1994 when scoring 80 points or more in a game. The last loss came at Tennessee Tech on Feb. 6, 2003 when the Racers fell 91-83.
POST-GAME COMMENTS
MSU head coach Mick Cronin:
"That was a tremendous effort from our guys on the defensive end in the first half. Tech is second in our league in scoring and for us to hold them down in the first half to gain control of the game was very important. (Tech forward) Willie Jenkins is such a great player. He's so good that we never got close to trapping him all night."
"The key in the first half was our defense, and the key in the second half was our rebounding, especially on the defensive end. I knew that if we held them to just one shot on each possession, we'd win the game. In turn, when we rebound, we can run and we were able to get some transition baskets in the second half. Our passing was excellent tonight. These guys are so fun to coach right now because of their unselfishness. This was a big win for us."
"(MSU junior guard) Adam Chiles is really starting to hit his stride. He started doing the same thing last year in junior college. At about February, he really started to hit another gear, and he's doing that for us right now. He's playing really strong with the ball, and he's doing a great job of leading us."
"If our team is a human body, Antione Whelchel is the heart beat. Ellis Myles was that guy when I was at Louisville. There's no doubt we'd struggle without his leadership, heart and soul, rebounding and defense. He does so many things for this team, and he's the most vocal guy we have. I'm very proud of the person he is, and that credit goes to Antione, his parents and (former MSU head coach) Coach (Tevester) Anderson. I'm proud to be a part of Antione's career."
"Our coaching staff has worked extremely hard on recognition in the post and how to handle what's thrown at them. Kelvin and Cuffy (Cuthbert Victor) are doing a great job of passing out of double-teams and making teams pay for that. Chris Shumate's three steals and seven rebounds show how hard he's working at the little things. He's playing so hard, and it's showing in every area of his game."
"I'm looking forward to Saturday night. I think it'll be a great atmosphere, and that's what the college game is all about. Fortunately, we've put ourselves in a position to play another meaningful game. I'm sure the game will live up to its billing. Austin Peay's got a tremendous team, and it should be fun. There's a lot of intriguing matchups within the game with the individual matchups and the clash of styles and all that. It should be a great matchup to watch. I'm sure we'll have plenty of Racer fans there, so it should be exciting."
