Murray State University Athletics
Racers prepare for showdown in an upper-tier OVC battle on Fox
2/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Murray State Racers and Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, both tied for second place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings, will battle in front of a nationally-televised audience for outright second place in their only regular-season meeting on Thursday night. Tipoff time at the Regional Special Events Center is set for 8 p.m. The game is being televised by Fox Sports Net.
"In February, every game is important," Racer head coach Mick Cronin said. "You're in the middle of a conference race. This is a big week for us."
The Racers (12-8, 7-3 OVC) are coming off a 61-58 loss to Southeast Missouri State on Feb. 5. Keith Jenifer scored 15 points and had five assists for the Racers, while Issian Redding came off the bench to score 10 points in a losing effort.
The Golden Eagles (12-9, 7-3 OVC) are coming off a tough road trip, losing to Samford 67-54, and then losing a heartbreaker to last place Jacksonville State in double-overtime on Feb. 5, 88-87. In the Jacksonville State game, Tennessee Tech placed four players in double-figures, led by Willie Jenkins' 24 points. Anthony Fisher came off the bench to score 18 points, while Derek Stribling had 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting. Keyon Boyd also had 13 points for the Golden Eagles.
Tennessee Tech is first in the OVC in two key defensive categories, field-goal percentage defense and three-point field-goal percentage defense. The Golden Eagles allow only 40.0 percent (217-for-543) from the floor, while rushing opponents into 29.7 percent (58-for-195) from the three-point arc.
Another key match-up will be rebounding. Murray State is first in the conference in offensive rebounds (14.1 a game), while Tennessee Tech is first in the conference in defensive rebounds (24.1 a game). These two teams are also extremely well-balanced on the scoring offense and scoring defense. Murray State averages 74.0 points a game, while Tennessee Tech averages 74.5. Murray State allows 66.6 points per game, while Tennesee Tech allows 66.7.
"The thing that worries me most about Tennessee Tech is their rebounding and athleticism," Cronin said. "They are very explosive; they remind me of our team last year. They have a lot of 6-4 and 6-5 guys who run the floor. They remind me of Cuthbert Victor and Antione Whelchel."
The Golden Eagles are led by Pre-Season OVC Player of the Year Jenkins and University of Tennessee transfer Derek Stribling. Jenkins, a transfer from the University of Massachusetts, is fourth in the OVC in scoring in conference play only, with 18.0 points per game, while Stribling is fourth place in the OVC in field-goal percentage in conference play, shooting .567 from the floor. Jenkins also averages 7.0 rebounds per game, the most on the team.
"Jenkins can get you inside or outside," Cronin said. "He posts up the smaller guys or he shoots threes over the bigger guys. I was just watching a tape of him, and he hit three straight three-pointers on three consecutive trips down the floor.
"Stribling adds a different dimension to their offense. He just looks like a fourth-year player. He spent two years at Tennessee, sat out a year, and is now playing his junior year at Tennessee Tech."
The Racers are led by sophomore Trey Pearson, who recently had his double-digit points streak snapped at six games by Southeast Missouri, when he scored only nine points. Pearson is averaging 16.5 points per game in conference play, while shooting .492 from the floor (60-for-122) and hitting 48.5 percent of his three-point attempts (32-for-66). Darnell Hopkins is second on the team in scoring with 11.6 points per game, while Shawn Witherspoon averages 9.7 points and leads the team with 5.2 rebounds per game. Jenifer leads the team in assists, averaging 4.1 a game.
Murray State leads the all-time season series 114-42. Murray State swept the season series last season, beating the Golden Eagles 90-78 in Cookeville, Tenn., then defeating the Golden Eagles 92-75 on March 2 in Murray in the first round of the OVC Tournament.
