Murray State University Athletics
Racers hope to snap home skid against longtime rival Austin Peay
2/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Murray State Racers, coming off consecutive home conference losses, will look to recover when they host rival Austin Peay on Saturday, on a nationally televised game on ESPN2. Tipoff time is set for 1 p.m, and all fans are encouraged to wear gold.
The league's top two teams last season, both Murray State and Austin Peay now find themselves in a four-way tie for third place along with Southeast Missouri and Eastern Kentucky in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. The last time Murray State dropped consecutive home contests was in January 2003, when they lost to Austin Peay (66-63) on Jan. 11 and Morehead State (83-76) on Jan. 23.
The Racers (12-9, 7-4 OVC) are coming off a 72-68 loss to Tennessee Tech Thursday night. Issian Redding, making his first start since Dec. 4 against Western Kentucky, led the Racers with 19 points and eight rebounds. Darnell Hopkins and Shawn Witherspoon, who had started 15 and 19 consecutive games, respectively, came off the bench to score 11 and 10 points.
The Governors (9-14, 7-4 OVC) defeated Tennessee-Martin in overtime Thursday night, 67-63. The Govs, who trailed 35-22 at halftime, were led by Anthony Davis's 19 points, seven rebounds, six steals and three assists. William Durden had a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Maurice Hampton had 14 points and Todd Babington added 12 more to round out the double-digit scorers for Austin Peay.
"Austin Peay defends and gives you nothing easy," Racer head coach Mick Cronin said. "They have gotten better at taking care of the ball. Zac Schlader is scoring down low, and Maurice Hampton is developing as a scorer. Their defense and toughness always keeps them in games."
The Governors are led by Davis, a Pre-Season All-OVC First-Teamer. Davis, the lone returning starter from last season's undefeated OVC regular-season championship team, averages 15.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.9 steals per conference game. Schlader averages 14.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per conference game, and is second in the OVC in field-goal percentage, converting on 60.5 percent of his shots (69-for-114). Hampton averages 12.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists a game for the Governors, while Durden averages 9.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
The Racers' leading scorer is sophomore guard Trey Pearson, who averages 15.5 points per conference game. However, Pearson has been tentative about being the Racers' "go-to guy." Cronin has said in the past that it is no secret that the offense runs through Pearson, and the stats show that is an accurate statement. In the Racers' seven OVC wins, Pearson averages 19.6 points on 13.7 shots per game. In the Racers' four OVC losses, Pearson averages only 8.5 points on 8.8 shots per game. In conference play, Witherspoon averages 11.9 points per game, while Hopkins averages 10.5 points.
The Racers lead the all-time series with Austin Peay, 66-34, holding a 37-8 advantage at games played in Murray. The two teams split the series last season, with Austin Peay winning 63-56 in Clarksville in the regular season, while Murray State defeated Austin Peay in the OVC Tournament championship game in Nashville, 66-60, to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
