Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Tennessee State
Racers out-slug Tennessee State, move to 4-1 in conference play
1/5/2006 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Overall, the Racers' performance was difficult to judge because the game never had a consistent flow because of a huge number of fouls on both squads. The Racers were whistled 23 times and the Tigers committed 27 fouls, the teams combined to shoot 52 free throws.
Racers head coach Mick Cronin agreed that it was tough for either team to get into an extended period of time without a stoppage in play.
"Tonight's game was an odd game, to say the least, neither team really consistently found a rhythm," Cronin said. "I thought our defense was good, especially in the second half, but I was disappointed in our turnovers and rebounding. Defensive rebounding is a big problem for us."
The Racers were defeated on the boards 40-32 by TSU and 24-21 in defensive rebounding.
The Racers were active on both ends of the floor early. Pearson Griffith's hook shot scored the first points of the game, followed by a TSU shot-clock violation. Justin Orr followed with a three-pointer, and then MSU forced the Tigers into a turnover in the backcourt.
A Griffith putback at 16:36 gave the Racers a 9-2 advantage.
Tennessee State rallied to tie the score at 9-9 on a Wayne Arnold three-pointer and a steal and layup by Reiley Ervin.
The Racers completed a 14-3 run and when Tyler Holloway's three went in, the Racers led 20-10 with 8:45 left. Trey Pearson added another three-pointer at the 6:51 mark to give the Racers their largest lead of the half at 23-12.
Again the Tigers rallied, inside the 3-minute mark.
TSU's Andrae Belton scored and easy lay-up after a MSU turnover, and then, after a Trey Pearson miss in the paint, Kareem Grant hit a jumper with his feet on the three-point line to cut the Racer lead to 28-22 with 2:10 before half..
The Racers led at the break 36-26, it was the sixth time in 11 games they have enjoyed the lead at intermission.
The second half began with a block by the OVC's leader, Griffith, and the break was finished by Darnell Hopkins with a three-pointer to give the Racers their largest lead of the game at 39-26 with 19:25 left.
The Racers built a 17-point lead (49-32) with 13:56 left in the game on a putback by Chuck Johnson. But TSU answered with back to back three pointers by Wayne Arnold and Ervin to make it a 49-38 MSU lead with 13:17 left.
The closing minutes were a constant parade to the foul line.
TSU cut the Racer lead to 11 (66-55) with 4:11 left. But again, Pearson hit a key three-pointer and the Racers were back in front 69-55 with 3:35 left.
Ervin's three cut the MSU lead to 10 with 2:41 left. After a MSU miss, Courtney Bohannon hit one of two free throws with 2:03 left to cut the lead to nine.
Tennessee State took advantage of another MSU miss and Arnold hit another three-pointer with 1:12 left and the Racer lead was 70-64.
The suspense was just beginning.
Bohannon's putback with 52 seconds left made it a 71-67 game. Chuck Johnson hit one of two from the line with 45 seconds remaining for a 72-67 MSU lead.
After a TSU miss, Justin Orr was fouled and went to the line with 32 seconds left. He made both for a 74-67 Racer lead.
Pearson hit a free throw with 20 seconds left for the final margin, as the Racers hung on to win 75-67.
The Racers placed four players in double figures: Shawn Witherspoon 16, Trey Pearson 15, Darnell Hopkins 13 and Justin Orr with 11.
The Racers forced Tennessee State into 19 turnovers.
The Racers now have a quick day to get ready for a Saturday contest at home against Southeast Missouri State. The Redhawks are one of only five teams since 1976 to have won two straight games in Murray. Last season, SEMO beat the Racers at the RSEC Feb. 5, and then did it again in the OVC Tournament quarterfinals at MSU on March 1. Both games were by a 61-58 score.
MSU Notes:
The Racers continue to enjoy a tremendous homecourt advantage in the Regional Special Events Center. In their eighth season here, they are 88-17, good for a winning percentage of .637. It was the Racers' second straight home win since losing to Southern Illinois. The Racers rebounded with a win over Rice before beating Tennessee State. Mick Cronin is now 4-1 against TSU and 52-21 overall in his fourth season at Murray State.
MSU is 30-5 at home under Cronin and 34-7 when making more three-pointers. They made eight, TSU made five.
Today's win was the Racers' 502nd all-time in the Ohio Valley, a league best.
The Racers lead the all-time series with Tennessee State now 34-12 and have won 11 straight over the Tigers in Murray. The last TSU win in Murray was in Racer Arena on Feb. 5, 1996. TSU is in a group of four OVC teams that have never defeated the Racers in the RSEC. TSU is 0-10, Eastern Kentucky is 0-8, UT-Martin is 0-7 and Jacksonville State is 0-1.
Coming into the TSU game, MSU's Chuck Johnson had made 10 straight free throws. He went to the line for the first time with 6:30 left and hit the first of two, but missed the second and his streak stopped at 11. MSU's all-time best of 33 straight by Greg Coble set in 1990 is safe for now. In the 11th game of the season, freshman Tyler Holloway finally made it to the free-throw line. With 1:04 left in the first half, he hit both of his attempts
Additional quotes:
Mick Cronin: I thought we shut it down after we got the 18-point lead. We got ahead and didn't play well with the lead. We also had numerous three-on-one breaks and didn't get shots off and turned the ball over.
We wanted to try to make it a high possession game and wear them down to where they would get fatigued. Tennessee State is a tough team. They were down by one point with the ball and 40 seconds left on the road against Iowa State. I've seen their film and I know what they're capable of. I'm just happy to get the conference win and prepare for Saturday. Every conference win is big, no matter the margin of the score.
Darnell Hopkins: It doesn't matter if I start or if I come off the bench. Coach just told me to penetrate and get other people shots, and get fouled because we need to get to the foul line more often.
Trey Pearson: We just try to go out there and play hard. We don't look at who starts, we just look at who finishes the game. When I'm out on the floor, I don't care how many shots I get, I just look to win the game.
TSU head coach Cy Alexander: I thought Murray State played very well defensively and we didn't handle their pressure very well. The difference tonight was our 19 turnovers, which Murray created scoring opportunities and kept us out of our rhythm. Also we were just 14-for-24 from the free throw line. You can't make 58 percent of your free throws on the road against a great team like Murray State and expect to win.
