Murray State
Samford
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MSU charges into OVC first place with 59-38 victory over Samford
1/30/2006 6:45:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The change in approach came on the defensive end, where the Racers started the game in a one-three-one zone, which worked like a charm.The Racers played a zone, something they almost never do.
Head coach Mick Cronin told his team they had to go about it the right way.
"I told the guys, the zone won't work if we continue to get out-hustled by Samford, because in all three losses to them, that had been a common factor," Cronin said.
Another change was the Racers' confidence against a team that had their number in the previous three games, all losses over the last three seasons.
"Our effort tonight was unbelievable, and we played with tremendous humility," Cronin said. "All they cared about was winning that game and hustling."
From the opening tip, the early minutes belonged to the Racers.
In the game's first 9:15, the Racers were 7-for-15 (46.7 percent) from the field, while Samford was 2-for-12 (16.7 percent).
Shawn Witherspoon put the Racers up 6-2 with a short jumper, and after a Samford miss, Pearson Griffith scored off a feed from Witherspoon, and the Racers were ahead 12-2..
The Racers hit the boards with a vengeance. Griffith pulled on down an offensive rebound and fed Tyler Holloway for a three-pointer, and the lead grew to 15-5.
The Racers were pressing, and Witherspoon took the ball away from Jerry Smith near midcourt and threw a long pass to Trey Pearson. His layup try was hard, but Witherspoon hustled in for the easy putback to push the lead to 17-5 with 10:45 before half.
However, the Racers then went horribly cold and did not score again until Justin Orr's baseline layup with 4:04 left in the half. The Racers' scoring drought went for 6:17.
In the middle, Samford got back into the game with a 12-0 run that included two three-pointers from Smith, the second of which tied the game at 17 with 4:24 left in the half.
Holloway's second three-pointer of the half put the Racers back to a five-point lead with 2:46 left.
Johnson made it a 24-19 game with 33 seconds left. Samford played for the final shot but Smith's driving try fell off the rim at the buzzer, and Murray State led at the break 26-19.
The Racers' new zone approach worked to stop the Bulldogs from what they do best.
Samford, the nation's fourth-best three-point shooting team, went 3-for-15 (20 percent) from long range in the opening half. J. Robert Merritt, Samford's leading scorer and ranked third in the nation in three-point shooting, was 1-for-8 from long range in the opening half.
The Racers also held a sizable lead on the boards 22-15.
Merritt started the second half with a three for Samford, and it was quickly followed by a three from Smith to cut the Racer lead to 28-25 with 16:04 left in the game.
The Racers went to their press, and it paid off. In the span of three minutes, the Racers scored a 14-2 run.
The constant in the run was Witherspoon, who grabbed two offensive rebounds and a steal and scored seven points. Holloway hit another three, and Jenifer scored after a steal. When it was over at the 12:45 mark, the Racers were in front 42-27.
On offense, Samford was having a hard time getting open looks at the basket. Merritt hit a three at the 9:20 mark to cut the MSU lead to 44-33, but they went the next 7:38 with only one field goal..
MSU ended the game on a 14-5 run and won 59-38.
The 38 points given by the Racers is not only a season low, but it's also the lowest point total for an MSU opponent in more than 20 years, since the Racers won at Evansville 52-34 in December of 1985.
Two Racers turned in double-double performances: Shawn Witherspoon with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Pearson Griffith with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Racers were 23-for-52 from the field for .442, while Samford was 13-for-46 for .283.
Samford made only seven of 28 three-point attempts for .250.
J. Robert Merrit was 3-for-12 from three range.
MSU Notes:
The attendance tonight was 6,089, the largest crowd in 21 home games. 6,612 watched the Racers play Western Kentucky at the Regional Special Events Center on Dec. 4, 2004.
Today was the 109th game for the Racers in their eighth season in the RSEC; they are now 93-16.
MSU is 10-1 at home this season and have won seven straight since losing here to Southern Illinois on Dec. 28.
The Racers' home winning streak in regular-season OVC games is now 12. The last time MSU lost a regular-season OVC home game was Feb. 10, 2005, a 72-68 decision to Tennessee Tech.
MSU now leads the all-time series 8-7 over Samford and snap a four-game losing streak to the Bulldogs that dates back to the last MSU win in the series at Murray in 1980.
Racer head coach Mick Cronin is now 59-22 in his third season. Samford was the only team head coach Mick Cronin had not defeated in OVC play. He is now 1-3 against them.
The Racers started the same lineup for the sixth straight game: Witherspoon, Griffith, Orr, Hopkins and Pearson.
MSU hasn't given up an 80-point outing to any opponent now in 37 straight games. The last MSU opponent to score more than 80 was the 100 UAB put up on the Racers in a 100-80 win in Birmingham on Jan. 2, 2005.
With two blocks tonight, Pearson Griffith has tied MSU great Popeye Jones for ninth place on the all-time blocks list with 87. Next up is eighth-place Paul King with 99. Cuthbert Victor owns the all-time mark of 160.
The Racers beat Samford on the boards 40-22. It's the sixth time this season the Racers have won the battle of the boards by 10 or more. The others are: Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State, Jacksonville State, Southern Illinois and Rice.
Additional quotes:
Shawn Witherspoon: "Tonight's game was overwhelming. It seems like we did everything Coach Cronin asked us to do to a tee, as far as the scouting report goes. We executed defensively, they took tough shots. We came with our press every single time after every score. You win championships with defense, and when you start winning with defense, you're more confident in your offense.
"You have to play every game like this from here on out. Every team is dangerous right now, because if they lose, they might be going home. We have to play everybody like they are Samford, Tennessee Tech, or Tennessee State.
"The crowd was tremendous, really tremendous. It was amazing how much support we got. Every time something happened, they got into it and they got on their feet. That's what we've been needing all year. They picked up our intensity on defense."
Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette: "They did a good job of changing zone defenses and putting pressure on us. They were a step quicker, they were hungrier, and I really credit that to Mick Cronin. On offense, we went from being very tentative to out of control, and we never got in an offensive rhythm. Murray is playing well. Everyone knows they're athletic, and they are humble. They came out ready to play tonight, with a great crowd and great support. This is ironic, because this is the best team we've had since we've been in the OVC, and tonight was the night we got beat, as opposed to us beating Murray in the previous years."
Mick Cronin: "The first thing I did was show our players on Sunday before practice about an eight-minute edited film compiled by Coach (Matt) Grady of Samford running their offense, and it was the most impressive thing you will ever see in your life. I told our guys to watch like they were a coach, and we decided to try a zone on defense. But I told the guys the zone won't work if we continue to get out-hustled by Samford. In all three losses to them, that has been a common factor: we got out-hustled by them. We decided we needed to go out there and take it to them, and we said they're going to make shots here and there, but we're not going to change the zone. Our effort tonight was unbelievable, and we played with tremendous humility. All they cared about was winning that game and hustling. They held a team that came in shooting 51 percent to 28 percent. Coaching did not win this game tonight.
"A key to the game was when Samford cut the lead to 17-15. We needed to keep our energy up, and I thought Chuck was the key to that. He came in and got us some big baskets and gave us energy. Tyler Holloway, Darnell Hopkins, Justin Orr and Shawn Witherspoon all did a good job of penetrating the lanes and breaking down the defense. I thought Shawn's second-half effort was unbelievable. He has had two fouls in the first half in the last two games, so I've had to rest him early. Maybe I should start doing that more often.
"Our students were great. I love our fans. You have to have paying customers, and we have great fans. A lot of people say that the atmosphere here isn't like it was in Racer Arena. Well, there's a reason for that: in Racer Arena, the students were almost on the court and they were jumping up and down all game. Our students did a great job against Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State, but both of those games we had big leads, and I think our fans might have gotten a little bored. We had a handful of games where the students were gone for Christmas break, but since they have been back on campus they have been unbelievable. We have gone out, myself, Manny Banks (of MSU athletics marketing and promotions), (assistant director of athletics) Darron Boatright and Air Dunker have walked around campus getting our students ready, and the energy has to come from the students. The students make this a heck of a home-court advantage these past two games, and it really makes us fun for us. They've been a major difference. Unbelievable."
