Murray State University Athletics
Racers hope to fend off upset-minded Eastern Kentucky
1/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
On Jan. 8 in Murray, the Murray State Racers and the Eastern Kentucky Colonels played what Eastern Kentucky head coach Travis Ford called "a good college basketball game." Junior Keith Jenifer hit two clutch free throws with 0.3 seconds left in regulation to force the game into overtime, where the Racers won 80-78.
Now, the Racers travel to Richmond, Ky., on Thursday to face the upset-minded Colonels. Tipoff time is set for 6:30 p.m. CT. With Tennessee Tech losing to Austin Peay on Tuesday night, the Racers (10-6, 5-1 OVC) can tie with Tennessee Tech for second place with a win over Eastern Kentucky. A sweep of this current two-game road trip can give the Racers sole possession of second place.
"I was planning on getting Eastern Kentucky's best shot on Thursday," Racer head coach Mick Cronin said. "They had opportunities to beat us. Although they're 3-3, they are still formidable. They have lost to the top three teams in the league in Samford, Tennessee Tech and us. They're playing well; they're obviously going to be very tough at home.
"They gave us fits up there last year. We had to come from way down to win it late in that game. I think that Thursday, our guys will definitely be ready because they understand that the Eastern game could have and maybe should have gone the other way the first time around. We have to come out with unbelievable toughness on the road, like we did at UT-Martin and Jacksonville State."
In that Jan. 8 game, the Racers were led by sophomore Trey Pearson, who poured in a game-high 24 points. Sophomore Shawn Witherspoon chipped in 16 points, while junior Issian Redding came off the bench to score 17 points. As well as hitting the two free throws to force the game into overtime, Jenifer also handed out a game-high nine assists.
The Colonels placed all five of their starters in double figures, led by Matt Witt's 18 points. Alonzo Hird had 16 points and nine rebounds, while Zach Ingles had 16 points and Jason McLeish added 11 points for the Colonels. Senior Michael Haney had an amazing night, scoring 10 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing out seven assists.
"This is a big road week for us," Cronin said. "We've got to find a way to win on the road if we want to compete for a conference championship. A big concern of mine is with the young group having never been through the OVC. They haven't had to handle playing the same team twice in the same year, having beaten them already, both in Eastern and Morehead. So, you've got to understand that your opponent has all the motivation in the world to turn the tables on you."
In the Racers' last game, an 82-74 victory over Tennessee State on Saturday, the Racers placed four players in double-figures. Pearson and Jenifer each had 17 points, while juniors Darnell Hopkins and Charles Johnson each had 12 points. Johnson also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, while Jenifer handed out a game-high seven assists.
For the Racers, Pearson leads the team in scoring, putting in 14.3 points per game. Hopkins averages 12.3 points per game, and Witherspoon is third on the team in scoring with 10.5 points per outing. Redding leads the team in rebouding, pulling down 5.2 a game, just ahead of Witherspoon's 5.1 a game. Jenifer leads the team in assists, dishing out 4.1 a game.
In the Colonels' (11-6, 3-3 OVC) last game, a 67-61 loss to first-place Samford, Ingles and Hird both had 11 points to lead the Colonels in a losing effort. Haney grabbed 10 rebounds, while Witt had five assists, despite having one of the worst shooting games of his career (3-for-15, 1-for-7 from three-point range). Eastern Kentucky could not hold a 30-17 halftime lead, allowing Samford to hit 70 percent (14-for-20) from the floor in the second half, including 8-of-9 from the three-point line.
On the season, Witt leads the Colonels in scoring, averaging 13.7 points per game, right ahead of Haney's 13.3 average. Ingles averages 11.8 points a game, while McLeish rounds out the double-digit scorers with 11.2 points per game. Rounding out the starters, Hird averages 9.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, Haney leads the OVC in field-goal percentage in conference games only, shooting 59.6 percent from the floor (34-for-57). Haney also leads the Colonels in rebounding, averaging 8.3 a game. Witt also averages 6.2 assists a game, which is best on the team.
Murray State holds an 87-54 advantage over the Colonels, but the series is dead-even at 32-32 in games played at Richmond. The Racers' last game in Richmond was an 82-71 win on Jan. 10, 2004. The Racers trailed by 11 points with 12 minutes left to play in the game, but rallied back to win, shooting 64.3 percent from the field in the second half.
