Murray State
Southern Illinois
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Racers and Salukis 29th meeting, turns to SIU at the end 57-53
12/28/2005 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The first half of the game was any thing but a thing of beauty for either team.
Trailing 5-4 with 17:10 left in the half, the Racers were held scoreless for more than five minutes, and SIU was able to build a 12-4 lead.
With 8:55 left in the half, SIU was ahead 12-8, but was 5-of-15 from the field while the Racers were 3-of-15.
In one of the lowest scoring halves the Racers have been involved in this season, Darnell Hopkins hit a three pointer to end the first half scoring with the Racers trailing 25-23.
It was the lowest first half output for the Racers since they scored 24 last Feb. 12 at home when they trailed Austin Peay 38-24 at the half.
In the second half, the Racers were able to take the game out of the half court pace preferred by SIU, going on a 16-7 run to lead 39-32 with 14:49 left in the game.
During the run, Trey Pearson break hit back to back shots, and Chuck Johnson set up a Shawn Witherspoon for an easy lay up and scored one of his own.
The Racers had two chances to put some real distance between themselves and the Salukis but could not do it.
Leading 45-38 with 9:45 left, the Racers saw SIU's Wesley Clemmons keep the game within reach with a three-pointer to make it a 45-41 game.
Again with 8:45 left and leading 47-41 the Racers had a shot blocked that let to a Jamaal Tatum three pointer to make it close again at 47-44.
SIU finally took the lead on a Jamaal Tatum lay up off of a MSU turnover 48-47 with 4:55 left.
Issian Redding's three with 3:10 left tied the game at 50.
MSU's miss from Trey Pearson with 1:25 left led to a slam dunk by SIU's Randal Falker for a 52-50 Salukis lead.
The Racers were held to three points in the final 3:10 of the game, those points coming on a three by Tyler Holloway with 1.9 seconds left.
SIU made three of four free throws in he final 10 seconds to seal a 57-53 win.
MSU head coach Mick Cronin stated earlier in the week that SIU would present the toughest defensive test the Racers had seen this season.
"They're the best defensive team we've played, but they always are, so it's no surprise," Cronin said."Teams can't dictate the tempo in our gym. Tonight, we were walking the ball up the floor for no reason."
Cronin added, "We're a different team when we run the break and get into transition. My main concern is that we need to dictate the tempo with our defense and physicality. We can't make our games a half-court, grind-it-out games."
Shawn Witherspoon: who was 3-of-14 from the field summed up the Racers frustration, “We didn't do the things we needed to do to win. We had the lead, then didn't take care of the ball and defend on our own home court.”
For the first time since a 70-49 loss at Pittsburgh on Dec. 20, 2003, the Racers had no player score in double figures.
Three MSU players had eight points: Witherspoon, Pearson Griffith and Trey Pearson.
SIU was paced by Tatum's 17, and Bryan Mullins 11.
The Racers have little time to dwell on the loss, they host Rice Friday at 7:30 p.m.
MSU Notes:
The Racers three game home winning streak is stopped. After beating Campbellsville, Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State, it's MSU's first loss at home this season.
The Racers want an up-tempo game for good reason, they are 32-1 in the Cronin era when getting to the 80-point mark. In the last two games, both losses to Samford and SIU, the Racers have scored 50 and 53 points.
The game was the first in a six-game home stand for MSU.
SIU now leads the all-time series 15-14 and have won 11 of 17 since 1981.
Pearson Griffith recorded two blocks against SIU giving him 66 in his career. He is three from cracking the MSU top-10. At the moment, tenth place is shared by Danny Jarrett (1976-78) and Mike Lahm (1983-85) with 69.
The Rice game Friday marks the Owls first visit to Murray. The two met in Houston last February as part of the ESPN Bracket Buster.
