Murray State
Eastern Illinois
Witherspoon's 14 Points Leads Racers Past EIU 81-51 In Regular-Season Finale
2/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Freshman forward Shawn Witherspoon led a balanced Racer attack as Murray State closed the regular-season with a dominating 81-51 Ohio Valley Conference win over Eastern Illinois in front of 5,115 fans tonight on "Senior Night" at the Regional Special Events Center.
The Racers (25-5, 14-2 OVC) will be the No. 2 seed in next week's OVC Tournament, and MSU will host No. 7 seeded Tennessee Tech on Tuesday at 7 p.m., in first round action at the RSEC. The other three first round tourney games will feature No. 1 Austin Peay hosting No. 8 Tennessee State, No. 3 Morehead State hosting No. 6 Jacksonville State and No. 4 Eastern Kentucky hosting No. 5 Samford. Click here for a complete OVC Tournament bracket.
On a night when the Racer basketball program honored its departing seniors, it was the freshman from Oviedo, Fla, who led the strong effort by MSU. Witherspoon was 6-of-8 from the field, pulled down eight rebounds, swiped three steals and dished out two assists in 19 minutes of action.
Senior forward Cuthbert Victor added 13 points, seven rebounds, four steals, two blocks and two assists in 24 minutes, while junior forward Kelvin Brown chipped in with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. Senior guard Kevin Paschel was the fourth and final Racer player scoring in double-figures with 10 points to go with three assists and three steals.
Seniors Chris Shumate and Antione Whelchel also had solid nights in the final regular-season games at the RSEC. Shumate was 3-of-6 on three-pointers for nine points to go with four assists and a blocked shot, while Whelchel had nine points, two assists and one steal.
After four lead changes and three ties over the first 9 minutes, 30 seconds of action, the Racers regained control for good at 17-16 on a Victor free throw with 10:20 left in the first half. MSU dominated the final 10:20 of the first half outscoring EIU (6-21, 4-12 OVC) 28-13 for a commanding 44-29 halftime lead.
MSU continued its strong play in the second half holding the Panthers to just four field goals over the final 20 minutes of play. The Racers pushed their lead out to as much as 35 in the second half at 75-40 on an Andi Hornig jumper with 6:45 left in the game before settling for the final 30-point margin.
Every Racer player in uniform played at least four minutes while 10 of the 12 reached the scoring column. Overall, MSU was 28-of-65 from the field for 43.1 percent while holding EIU to just 13-of-40 shooting, good for just 32.5 percent. The Racers outrebounded the Panthers 37-34 while outscoring them 38-18 in the paint. MSU also converted 26 EIU turnovers into 34 points.
Prior the game, MSU honored seniors Nathan Akin, Tim Haworth, Andi Hornig, Rick Jones, Kevin Paschel, Chris Shumate, Cuthbert Victor and Antione Whelchel, along with Petar Roncevic who will not return next season.
To purchase tickets for MSU's first round home game or for more information on tickets for the semifinals and finals at Nashville's Municipal Auditorium, call the MSU ticket office at (270) 762-4895.
NOTES:
-- MSU improves to 22-0 this season when scoring more than 70 points and moves to 21-0 when outrebounding its opponent.
-- After tonight's 81-51 win, the Racers increased their lead in the all-time series with EIU to 23-6, and MSU now holds a 21-6 edge in games played in Murray.
-- With his two swats tonight, Victor now has 155 blocked shots in his career, No. 1 all-time at MSU.
-- With their 81-point effort tonight, the Racers are now 157-8 since 1994 when scoring 80 points or more in a game.
