Murray State University Athletics
MSU Wins 100th Game At RSEC With 53-50 Victory Over EIU
11/25/2006 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Murray State Racers defeated
The victory also marked the 100th win all-time for the Racers in the
The Racers also extended their home winning streak to 13 straight and they have also won 12 straight regular season OVC home games.
The Racers couldn't have imagined a better first half on the defensive end.
MSU held EIU for more than 11 minutes without a field goal and in the process built a 31-18 lead at the half.
Tyler Holloway started the scoring with his 12th three-pointer of the season for a 3-0 MSU lead.
EIU took a 5-4 lead on a three by Romain Martin, but from that point on the Racers locked down on the Panthers
The Racers went ahead for good when Ed Horton hit a basket and made the free throw for a three-point play and a 10-8 MSU lead with
Another steal and a tip in by Danero Thomas who made his first collegiate start gave the Racers a 13-8 lead.
The Racers defense held the Panthers from the
Holloway drained another three-pointer and Rob Kennedy added a conventional three-point play and the Racers enjoyed a 29-10 lead with
The Racers went into the half with a 31-18 lead and held EIU to 22 percent shooting (6-27) and 33 percent from three-point range (3-9). The Racers enjoyed a 41 percent shooting half from the field (10-24) and 30 percent from three-point range (3-10).
The Panthers 18-point first half was the best for a Racer defense since holding UT-Martin to 18 last Feb. 28.
Eastern Illinois made adjustments and started the second half with a 9-5 run cutting the Racers lead to 36-27 with 15:09 left on a three-point play by Bobby Catchings.
A three-point play by Shawn Witherspoon off of a missed free throw from Curtis Parker with 10:53 left broke some of EIU's momentum and gave the Racers a 41-33 lead. It was Witherspoon's 10th rebound of the game, marking the first double-digit rebounding game for a Racer this season.
Romain Martin single handedly brought the Panthers closer with his own personal 9-0 run. Martin hit two jumpers, a three-pointer and two free throws to cut the Racers lead to 45-44 with
Carter scored on a nice pass from Kennedy for a three point Racers lead at 47-44. On the next trip down the floor Kennedy scored another three-point play when he tipped in a Witherspoon miss. MSU's lead was five with
After Martin stayed hot with another jumper, (he scored 11 straight points for EIU) then the Racers got mixed up and fumbled the inbounds pass out of bounds. EIU made it hurt when Bobby Catchings hit a jumper to cut the MSU lead to one with
The Racers were hanging on for dear life when Holloway beat the shot clock with
Again it was Martin who kept EIU within one point on a lay up in traffic with 35 seconds left, to cut the MSU lead to 51-50.
EIU had three fouls to give and once Jake Byrne fouled Carter with 10.4 left, the Racers were in the bonus. Carter hit both free throws and when Catchings missed a three to tie at the buzzer, the Racers had their opening OVC win 53-50.
The Racers failed to get anyone in double-figures in the scoring column. Kennedy and Carter each had nine. Witherspoon had seven points and pulled down 11 rebounds.
MSU Head Coach Billy Kennedy wants his team to put together a full 40 minutes of consistent play, they got better against
“Our defense for ten minutes in the first half was played like I want my teams to play it,” Kennedy said. “We held them to ten points in 17 minutes, the last three minutes we looked like a tired team.”
“We need to sustain our effort for a longer stand,” Kennedy added. “I think our guys realize if we play like that we can be a pretty good team, we just have to play like that for 40 minutes.”
The Racers concentrated on limiting the production from EIU's leading scorers Mike Robinson and Bobby Catchings. MSU held them to a combined 12 points which was 12 under their combined average.
“We did a good job on the two guys we tried to limit in Catchings and Robinson,” Kennedy said.
With Robinson and Catchings being slowed, Romain Martin was trouble for the Racers ending the game with 21 points on 8-13 shooting.
GAME NOTES:
The Racers had never played an OVC game in November since joining the league as a charter member in 1948. The Racers had played four OVC games in early December since 1998, but none this early.
When Danero Thomas hit a jumper with
MSU won the game without getting a player into double-figures in scoring. This was only the fifth time since 1979 that the Racers had played such a game. The last time the Racers had a scenario such as this and won the game was last season Jan. 26 when they defeated Tennessee Tech at home 55-51. The other three times it has occurred, the Racers lost the game.
The Racers now have a 13-game home winning streak and have won their 100th game all-time in the RSEC. They have only 15 losses since the RSEC opened in 1998. This is the 9th season for the Racers at the RSEC.
The Racers now lead the EIU series 26-6 and are 16-1 in
The Racers now have a 12 game win streak at home in regular season home OVC games. Their last loss was to Tennessee Tech.Feb.10, 2005.
MSU now prepares to play at Illinois-Chicago Tuesday at
