Murray State
Eastern Illinois
Pearson outside, Jackson inside highlight Racers' 73-69 win over EIU
2/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Murray State Racers rode the hot hand of sophomore guard Trey Pearson and received a career night from seldom-used center Reggie Jackson to push past the Eastern Illinois Panthers, 73-69. In other Ohio Valley Conference action, Samford defeated Tennessee Tech, forging a three-way tie for first place in the OVC.
The current OVC Newcomer of the Week, Pearson poured in 23 points on 8-of-18 shooting, including 6-of-11 from three-point range. Pearson, from nearby South Fulton, Tenn., has put up amazing shooting numbers in conference play so far this season, hitting exactly 50 percent from the field (56-for-112) and from three-point range (31-of-62). In his last two games, Pearson has averaged 25.5 points per game, while averaging six three-pointers per contest.
Jackson, a junior from Denver, Colo., had averaged only 4.3 minutes per conference game coming into tonight, but in 20 minutes he set two career highs and tied two others. His 18 points and three blocks were new career highs, while his six rebounds and two steals were also co-career highs. Jackson went 5-of-6 from the field, while hitting eight of his 13 free-throw attempts.
"Reggie took a lot of pressure of the guards tonight," Pearson said. "We already knew he could score, but his defense was the key tonight. He had nine deflections, had some key stops in the second half and blocked shots."
Both Jackson and Racer head coach Mick Cronin attributes Jackson's increased minutes to more intensity and better attitude in practice.
"I had been practicing hard, working harder to play," Jackson said. "The main thing the coaches have been telling me is to not put it in cruise control and to keep pushing."
"Reggie came to play in practice every single day this week," Cronin said. "He was all over the rim; he wouldn't stop talking defensively. He was out to change his situation tonight. The coaching staff knew he was ready for this game because of his great week and the energy he brought to practice."
While Cronin was not happy with his team's defensive effort (allowing 59.1 percent shooting in the first half and 50 percent for the game), the one thing he was happy to see was Pearson's assertiveness and new-found willingness to be the "go-to guy."
"I was quite happy with Trey's 18 shots," Cronin said. "It's no secret our offense goes through him. He got hot early, then went cold, and then regrouped and hit some more shots. Four assists, zero turnovers and three steals."
Junior guard Darnell Hopkins also had 11 points to round out the double-figure scorers for the Racers (12-7, 7-2 OVC). Hopkins went 4-of-5 from the field, including a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range. Shawn Witherspoon and Charles Johnson pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, and Justin Orr dished out a co-game-high five assists for the Racers.
For the Panthers (8-12, 3-6 OVC), Emanuel Dildy had 15 points and five assists, leading four double-digit scorers. George Tandy had 14 points and six rebounds, while Josh Gomes added 13 and Aaron Patterson, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, had 10 points in a losing effort. Andy Gobczynski also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds for the Panthers.
Pearson's fourth three-pointer in 10 minutes put the Racers ahead 21-20 with 8:09 left in the first half, but Eastern Illinois held its own and either had the lead or were tied for the remainder of the half, until Orr's layup at the halftime buzzer gave Murray State the 35-34 advantage at the break.
A Gomes three-pointer gave the Panthers the lead at 44-42 with 15:41 left, and they only relinquished the lead once in eight more minutes, until Pearson's fifth three-pointer of the night gave the Racers a 57-54 lead with 7:06 left. Murray never trailed after that point, pushing the lead to as many as 10 points with 3:03 left in the game.
The Racers' next action comes on Saturday night, when they host the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks. Tipoff time is set for 7:15 p.m.
