Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Eastern Kentucky
Racers fall at Eastern Kentucky 73-61
1/27/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Eastern Kentucky has always been a tough place for the Murray State Racers to play, and that was true this time around. On Thursday, the Racers dropped a 73-61 decision to the Colonels to fall to 10-7 overall and 5-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference, marking the third time in the last four games that the Racers have fallen to the Colonels in Richmond.
With the game tied at 24-24 with 5:35 remaining in the opening half, things began to go sour, as the Racers could only manage a tip-in by Pearson Griffith and two free throws by Shawn Witherspoon the rest of the half.
Eastern Kentucky scored 12 points during that period and took a 36-28 lead at the halftime break.
The second half was no better for the Racers, as EKU went on a 17-8 run to take a 53-36 lead with 15:00 left in the game.
The Racers mounted a rally that brought them back to as close as 11 points when Trey Pearson hit back-to-back three pointers at the 11:14 mark. Pearson finished as the Racers' leading scorer with 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc.
The Racers couldn't get any closer until Darnell Hopkins hit two free throws with 3:10 remaining to make it a 66-56 game.
But the Colonels answered the Racers' run when Alonzo Hird scored a three-point play on the next trip down the floor to put Eastern Kentucky up 69-56 with 2:43 left.
There are many reasons the Racers lost this game, but the most glaring is their lack of production from the free throw line, where they were only 10-for-24 in the second half and 14-for-30 for the game for 46.7 percent. The Racers' backcourt of Pearson, Keith Jenifer and Hopkins were a combined 3-for-10 from the line.
For only the third time under Mick Cronin, the Racers out-rebounded their opponent and lost the game. The Racers won the boards 34-31, but EKU made seven more field goals than the Racers did and forced them into 19 turnovers.
Hopkins was the Racers' only other double-figure scorer with 13 points.
The Racers have little time to regroup, as they play Saturday at Morehead State, and hope to come home with a split of the road trip.
After the Morehead State game, the Racers are at home for five straight games, beginning Feb. 3, when they host Eastern Illinois.
