Murray State University Athletics
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Tennessee Tech
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Tennessee Tech Uses Second Half Comeback To Edge Racers 70-66
2/23/2006 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
When the game was over, the Racers had to be thinking about the 11 free throws they missed.
The Racers have been a below average free throw shooting team for much of the year.
Entering the game, MSU was ranked last among Ohio Valley Conference teams and 273rd out of 326 NCAA division-one squads. But it was still surprising to see the Racers miss nine straight from the line in the first half. MSU finished the half hitting only eight of 17 (.471). For the game, MSU was 15-26 for .577 percent.
With 2:46 left, Tech capitalized on an MSU turnover and grabbed the lead 63-59 on a fast break lay up by Milone Clark.
Keith Jenifer dribbled the length of the floor to make it a 63-61 game with 2:15 left.
With 58 second left the Racers were down again by four when Jenifer made two free throws to cut the Tech lead to two once more.
MSU forced a Tech miss with 28 seconds left but couldn't secure the loose ball and Trey Pearson fouled Fisher who made both free throws to extend the Tech lead to four again.
Holloway drove the lane with 11.4 left to cut the lead to 68-66.
But that's as close as MSU would get as Tech made two more free throws and beat the Racers 70-66.
MSU drops to 20-6 overall and 16-3 in the OVC.
As the contest started, the Racers showed no signs of letting down even though they had clinched the OVC title last week by jumping on Tech 12-4 to start the game.
Leading 8-4, the Racers scored three straight hoops by Justin Orr, Pearson Griffith and Chuck Johnson.
Tech started to chip away and tied the game at 18 when Anthony Fisher scored a three point play with 7:37 left in the half.
Pearson hit MSU's first three pointer of the game to push back in front 21-18.
After that, it was a good news-bad news situation.
The bad news was after Pearson's three pointer at 7:02, MSU didn't score another one until Tyler Holloway hit a three with 1:38 before the half.
The good news was, while they were struggling, MSU held Tech to only one field goal during the same period.
With 40 seconds before half, Issian Redding slashed down the lane and gave MSU a 30-20 lead.
MSU went into the half with a 30-21 advantage.
The Racers shot 40 percent from the floor on 10-25 shooting, while holding the Golden Eagles to 27 percent on 8-29 shooting.
The 21 points given by MSU marked the 23rd time this season in 51 halves that the Racers have held an opponent to a sub 30-point half.
The first half for the Racers was rather odd in that they scored 10 field goals by 10 different players.
Tech came out of the locker room and got back into the game quickly.
Keyon Boyd's lay up after an MSU turnover tied the game at 33 with 16:14 left, the Golden Eagles run was 12-3 to begin the second half.
MSU's Shawn Witherspoon and TTU's Boyd traded three pointers and the game was tied at 36 with 15:16 left.
Tech's comeback was complete when Fisher scored on a break with 10:42 left, TTU led for the first time 46-45, but Orr scored seconds later on a back door cut and the Racers were back in front 47-46.
Tech completed a 7-0 run to take a 52-47 lead after Holloway missed on a break and Clark scored on the other end with 8:35 left.
The Racers clawed back with a three point play from Issian Redding to make it a 52-50 Tech lead with 7:58 left.
Tech took a 54-51 lead on a fast break dunk by Kabore, but a technical foul was assessed for his hanging on the rim. Holloway sank both free throws and the Racers were down by one with 6:18 left.
For the first time this season, Tyler Holloway led the Racers in scoring with 14. Jenifer was the only other Racer in double figures with 13.
MSU was out rebounded for the game 43-30.
MSU Notes:
The Racers win streak of 10 was the longest for MSU since they won 12 straight at the end of the 1997-98 season. That streak ended with a loss to Duke in the NCAA Tournament.
The Racers Saturday game with Tennessee-Martin is the final regular season home game for five MSU seniors: Center Pearson Griffith, Guards Darnell Hopkins and Keith Jenifer and forwards Issian Redding and Chuck Johnson. The five will be honored during pre game activities.
Mick Cronin is 65-23 in his third season as the Racers head coach. His winning percentage of .738 is the best all-time among MSU head coaches after 88 games.
This was the 147th all-time meeting between MSU and TTU, the longest running series the Racers play in the OVC. MSU leads the series 105-42.
The game started in a most usual fashion. Touted as the "Blizzard", confetti showered the arena when Tech scored its first field goal from Fancis Kabore with just 30 seconds into the contest. While the confetti stayed in the stands, the rolls of toilet paper tossed from the TTU student section did not. A technical foul was assessed and MSU freshman Tyler Holloway sank two free throws for a 4-2 MSU lead.
