Murray State
Eastern Kentucky
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Racers Down EKU Behind Stout Defense, Keith Jenifer's 15 Points
2/9/2006 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Keith Jenifer made sure the Racers got off to a good start by scoring the first seven points for MSU for a 7-6 lead. That string of points included a three point play with 16:11 remaining in the first half.
Eastern Kentucky's star senior, Matt Witt did not start the game because of a technical foul Monday entered the game and gave the Colonels a 16-12 lead on a three from the wing with 10:50 left before half.
Pearson Griffith made it a one point EKU lead when he scored a hook in the paint
However, with 4:00 left in the half, neither team was burning up the nets as both were 7 of 21 from the field.
Keith Jenifer gave the Racers a 22-20 lead on his first three pointer since Dec. 10 with 3:36 left
Griffith's hook shot in the lane kept the Racers ahead 24-22, but EKU's Julian Mascoll tied the game with a driving dunk with five seconds left.
The Racers and Colonels were tied at the half 24-24.
Jenifer missed a second free throw but Issian Redding swooped in for an easy put back to tie the game again at 28 with 16:04 left.
The poor shooting by both teams continued. With 15:00 left in the game, MSU was shooting 35 percent and EKU was shooting 30 percent.
The Racers grabbed the lead when Redding scored on an offensive rebound to go ahead 32-30 with 14:08 left.
Redding continued his work on the boards when Johnson also missed his second straight free throw, he grabbed the ball again and scored giving the Racers a 36-30 lead, their largest of the evening with 12:25 left.
As the Racers were completely locking down the Colonels, they began to generate offense on the other end.
Jenifer hit his second three of the game for a nine point lead, it was the first time in 50 games as a Racer he had hit two long shots in the same game.
After a three point play by Alonzo Hird, Griffith hit a free throw for a seven point lead.
Griffith started a fast break with a rebound that Jenifer finished for a nine point MSU lead.
Another EKU miss led to another MSU break by Redding. He missed his lay up try but Shawn Witherspoon was there for the tip in for his first points of the night and a 44-33 lead with 8:40 left.
Tyler Holloway's three pointer with 6:50 left gave the Racers a 49-33 lead.
With 6:13 left, the Racers had stymied EKU into 2 of 12 shooting from the field for the second half.
The Racers defense turned the game in their favor.
After Hird's field goal with 11:10 left, the Racers held EKU to no field goals over the next 10:07.
For the game, MSU shot 23-51 from the field for .451, while they held EKU to 13-47 for .277.
The Racers wrap up a 62-45 win in Richmond, after losing at McBrayer last season.
MSU's winning streak is seven straight, their overall mark is 17-5 and 14-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
MSU Notes:
The Racers now have an 89-52 lead on EKU in the all-time series that began in 1934.
The Racers are 32-31 all-time in Richmond.
One half the "Death Valley" swing is finished for the Racers. With a win at Morehead State Saturday, the Racers will sweep the trip for the 11 of the last 19 tries dating back to the 1987-88 season. During the period, the Racers have split the trip seven times. MSU has been swept on this trip only three times: 1993, 1995 and 2003.
The game marked the third time this season MSU was tied at the half. The other two came on Jan. 12 when the Racers and Austin Peay were tied 30-30 at the break, and Jan. 16 when they were tied with Eastern Illinois 26-26.
The Racers cracked the Mid-Major Top-25 rankings this week at number 25. One MSU opponent is also ranked, Southern Illinois is 8th. Samford, and Tennessee Tech are among those receiving votes.
Saturday, Feb. 18th, the Racers host the Flames of Illinois-Chicago. UIC hails from the Horizon league and host Loyola-Chicago Saturday. UIC is 12-12 and 5-7 in the Horizon league. Wednesday UIC plays their final game before coming to Murray when they play at Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The Racers travel to play at Morehead State Saturday. The Racers have won five straight over the Eagles including their last meeting Dec. 10 at Murray 92-40.
Jenifer's 15 points is a season high. His career high came last season at Eastern Illinois when he scored 19.
