Murray State
San Antonio
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Racers Win Seesaw Game Against Texas-San Antonio In Overtime
12/3/2005 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Andre Owens recorded a double-double for the Roadrunners with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
MSU (2-2) erased a 12-point first half deficit and UTSA (2-3) wiped out a 13-point Racer advantage in the second half. With 6.1 seconds remaining, Keith Jenifer hit a jumper from the free throw line as the shot clock expired to give Murray State a 73-70 lead. Freshman Eric Young then took the inbound pass, dribbled the length of the floor and pulled up for the game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
The Racers connected on their first two shot attempts of the game but made just six of their next 25 attempts as Texas-San Antonio built a 12-point lead. A 9-2 run keyed by six points from Owns gave the Roadrunners a 30-18 advantage with 6:01 to play in the first half.
Murray State answered by hitting a trio of three-pointers in the final five and a half minutes before intermission and after scoring the final seven points MSU trailed by just two, 35-33, at the break. Orr knocked down a pair of treys for six of his 12 first half points and Darnell Hopkins added the other.
The visitors made just 14-of-41 first half shot attempts, including four-of-19 from beyond the three-point arc, for 34.1 percent. UTSA hit 14-of-33 for 42.4 percent.
After exchanging baskets to start the second half, the Racers scored 15 straight points to go up by 13 with 14:39 remaining in the game. Griffith's layup at the 18:22 mark gave Murray State its first lead of the game, 39-37. The senior finished with eight points and six rebounds to go along with his career-best six blocks.
MSU still led by 13 after Redding connected on a layup with 9:27 left in the game. The Roadrunners however had one more run.
Texas-San Antonio made eight of its next nine shots including three three-pointers for a 20-6 run. Roderick Rodgers capped the run with a layup with 3:15 to play, turning a 13-point deficit into a 66-65 UTSA lead.
The game remained close in the closing minutes of regulation, setting up the big shots by Jenifer and Young.
Both teams shot over 50 percent in the second half. MSU went 16-for-31 for 51.6 percent. Texas-San Antonio made 11 of 21 shot attempts for 52.4 percent.
After trading baskets to start overtime Murray State scored five straight, four by Redding, to take control of the game. The Racers made four-of-five attempts from the field and seven-of-10 free throws in overtime to secure the victory. UTSA went just one-for-five from the field.
Orr went nine-of-14 from the field including three-of-six from three-point land.
Redding's career-tying 19 points came on six-of-13 shooting from the floor and six-of-eight from the charity stripe. He added seven boards.
Both teams finished the game shooting 44 percent. While Murray State made 12-of-16 (75 percent) free throw attempts the Roadrunners could not capitalize on 38 trips to the charity stripe. UTSA knocked down just 20 free throws for 52.6 percent.
After torching the nets in the first half (seven-of-12 from the field for 15 points), Owens attempted just four shots in the second half, totaled just four points and committed six turnovers. He did grab eight of his 14 rebounds in the second 20 minutes of play.
MSU's Trey Pearson and Shawn Witherspoon each finished with a game-high six assists.
The Racers begin Ohio Valley Conference play on Thursday when they host defending OVC Tournament Champion Eastern Kentucky University. Tip-off between the Colonels and Murray State is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and the game will air live on ESPNU.
