Murray State University Athletics
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Racers Look For Music City Magic
3/2/2006 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
In the quarterfinal round of the 2006 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference championship tournament, the Murray State Racers had to defeat Tennessee-Martin for the third time in three tries. In order to advance to the championship round of the OVC tournament, the Racers will have to accomplish the same and defeat the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, whom they swept in their season series.
The Racers (22-6) defeated JSU 91-72 on Dec. 19, 2005 in Jacksonville, then faced a much closer game at home, a 78-72 win on Feb. 4. In the 91-72 win, the Racers placed six players in double figures, led by Issian Redding's 16 points off the bench. Redding went 5-for-6 from the field, including 4-for-4 from the three-point arc, all in just 14 minutes. Darnell Hopkins and Trey Pearson scored 13 points apiece, while Chuck Johnson chipped in 12 points off the bench. Pearson Griffith scored 11 points, while All-OVC First-Teamer Shawn Witherspoon had 11 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. The Gamecocks were led by All-OVC First Teamer Walker D. Russell, who went 7-for-11 from the field and scored team-highs of 16 points and four assists. B.J. Spencer was the only other Gamecock in double figures with 11 points.
In the Racers' 78-72 win at home Feb. 4, Witherspoon's 16 point, seven rebound, and eight assist performance paced the Racer victory, while Justin Orr was the only other double-digit scorer with 13 points. Griffith scored eight points and also pulled down 11 rebounds. For the Gamecocks, Russell once again led the way with 21 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Dorien Brown also chipped in 17 points. Spencer had 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting (all behind the three-point arc), while OVC All-Newcomer Courtney Bradley added 12 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
After the OVC quarter-final tournament victory over Tennessee-Martin, Racer head coach Mick Cronin said the two games regular season games with the Gamecocks (16-12) were opposites of each other. “Down in Jacksonville, we dominated the interior,” said Cronin, who was named 2006 OVC Coach of the Year on Wednesday. “When they came here, Pearson Griffith got into some early foul trouble and we couldn't establish our offensive rhythm inside. We have more size and depth than them, and the key to the game will be dominating the interior, because their guards (Russell and Spencer) just play too well.”
Cronin and the Racers sport a 4-0 career record against Jacksonville State.
The Gamecocks are coming off an impressive 86-59 win over Eastern Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the OVC tournament, a team that had swept the season series with JSU. The win was just the second in school Division-I history and their first since joining the OVC in 2003.
Russell amassed JSU's first-ever triple-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists for the Gamecocks, who shot 75 percent from the floor in the second half (21-for-28). Bradley had a game-high 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting, while Brown also chipped in 16 points in the win.
The Racers relied on their defense to cover up an icy shooting second half. Although the Racers managed only five field goals in the second half, they held Tennessee-Martin to 28.6 percent shooting for the game, including 22.6 percent (7-for-31) in the first half. The Racers were led by Darnell Hopkins' 20 points, while Redding added 12 and Witherspoon had his usual all-around great game with 10 points, seven rebounds, and five steals. Griffith also was a dominating inside presence, swatting away eight shots and pulling down seven rebounds.
Friday night's game will be a senior-laden game, as JSU boasts six seniors and Murray has five of their own.
Cronin knows that JSU, who went 2-14 in the OVC last season, will be a very formidable opponent who will try to change up their looks on both sides of the ball. “Jacksonville State creates a lot of possessions by the way they play defense and offense,” Cronin said. “They do a good job of spreading you out, and they are very hard to defend. It will be a tough game for us because we will have to be able to put the ball in the basket.”
The Racers hope to use their previous experience in the Gaylord Entertainment Center to good use. The Racers played SEC member Tennessee on Nov. 30 at Gaylord, a 64-53 loss. The Racers had a lead with eight minutes left, and even led by as many as nine points in the second half. Tennessee is currently 20-6 and are currently ranked 11th in the nation.
Tip-off from the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tenn. is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN-U. The winner will advance to the OVC championship game televised on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. Saturday to determine the league's automatic entry to the NCAA Tournament.
