Murray State
Tennessee-Martin
MSU second-half runs of 18-2, 20-6 bring Racers 80-56 win over UTM
2/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Murray State Racers, who were tied with Tennessee-Martin 29-29 at halftime, made a second-half surge for the second time in as many games, outscoring Tennessee-Martin 51-27 in the second half, winning 80-56 tonight.
Two Racers earned new career-highs in points, as Shane Dansby had 15 points and Pearson Griffith had 12 points to go along with Trey Pearson's 21 points. Darnell Hopkins also added 10 more points for the Racers (14-9, 9-4 OVC), who took sole possession of second place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings tonight, just a half-game back from first-place Samford.
Pearson also added five rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Racers, who shot 63.6 percent from the floor (21-for-33) in the second half. Dansby and Shawn Witherspoon pulled down a co-game-high six rebounds apiece, while Issian Redding dished out a game-high five assists. Keith Jenifer also added nine points and three assists, while Reggie Jackson scored six points and pulled down five rebounds for the Racers.
Murray State used runs of 18-2 early in the second half and 20-6 midway through the second half to keep UTM at bay.
"I hope we're finally becoming a second-half ballclub," Murray State head coach Mick Cronin said. "That's when you win games. Last year's team was a second-half team. We had 11 turnovers in the first half and only three in the second half. Also, in the first half, we had zero points from our 5-spot (center), and we came out and had 18 points in the second half from the 5-spot.”
When asked about Dansby and Griffith's career nights, Cronin could do nothing but smile.
"Shane's body is going to be tremendous," Cronin said. "He has the makings of a great career here. Pearson's a good kid. We need him to be a factor for us down the stretch. We know what he is capable of. When he plays to his ability, Keith, Trey and Spoon get excited because they know we have the makings of a great team."
Both Dansby and Griffith said their career nights just simply came from getting open from Skyhawk defenders.
"I took shots when they were open, shooting them just like in practice," Dansby said.
"I started off slow because I wasn't getting in the right spots," Griffith said, "but I got open in the second half, and my teammates found me for some easy lay-ups."
Jared Newson led the Skyhawks (5-19, 2-11 OVC) with a game-high 23 points, pulling down five rebounds. Justin Smith had 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from behind the three-point arc, and Will Lewis had 11 points and a co-game-high six rebounds. Aaron Ferrell also handed out a team-high four assists for the Skyhawks in a losing effort.
Tennessee-Martin came out of the locker room hot, leading by as many as eight when Lewis hit a lay-up with 15:18 left in the first half to make the score 10-2. A Dansby three-pointer put the Racers up at 14-13 with 9:35 left, and the Racers would lead by as many as eight when Pearson hit a three-pointer with 2:24 left in the first half to make the score 29-21 in favor of Murray. However, the Skyhawks made an 8-0 run in the last 2:11, with Newson scoring the last five points of the half for the Skyhawks.
Tennessee-Martin scored the first four points of the second half before a Jenifer jumper at 18:17 tied the score at 33-33. A Newson three-point play put the Skyhawks back on top at 36-33 with 16:27 left, but Griffith came back with another lay-up, and a defensive stop and Witherspoon lay-up later, the Racers were back in the lead at 37-36 with 15:49 left in the game. Newson made a free throw with 15:32 left, forcing another tie at 37-37, but Pearson's lay-up with 15:06 left gave the Racers a 39-37 lead, a lead they would never relinquish for the rest of the night. A pair of free throws by Dansby pushed the Racer lead out to as much as 25 with 2:43 left, and that was the Racers' biggest margin of the night.
The Racers' next game is on Thursday, when they travel to Nashville, Tenn., to take on the Tennessee State Tigers. These two teams have already played each other once this season, with the Racers coming away with a 82-74 win on Jan. 22 in Murray. Tipoff time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
