MSU Handles Avila At Home 84-55

Friday, November 23

Murray, Ky.

7:00 p.m.

Murray State

Avila

11/23/2007 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

The Murray State men's basketball squad used a 32-4 second half run to score an 84-55 win over Avila University in the Regional Special Events Center. MSU put five players in double figures and moved their 2007-08 record to 2-1.

The key moments came in the second half when a pesky Avila team kept coming back every time the Racers tried to get control of the contest.

MSU's 37-30 half time lead was gone when Avila tied the score 44-44 with 15:10 left in the game.

That's when MSU finally got the run they had been working for.

Racer guard Kevin Thomas made a steal and an easy two which was followed by an inside put back by Danero Thomas for a four point lead. After Tyler Holloway hit a pair of free throws, Danero Thomas drilled a three pointer from the left wing for a 53-44 MSU lead, their largest of the night with 12:07 remaining.

The Racer run continued when Marvin Williams dunked on a fast break and Kevin Thomas made another steal and lay up for a 57-44 lead with 9:48 left.

The MSU defense clamped down on Avila so severely that the Eagles didn't score another field goal until the 4:27 mark on a basket by Tavan Sills. By then the MSU run was 32-4 over 10:43 and they had a 76-48 lead.

Danero Thomas led the scoring for MSU with 17 point on 5-10 shooting, he also led the team with eight rebounds.

Bruce Carter added 13 points to go with seven rebounds and Kevin Thomas added 12 points.

Jewaun Long and Tony Easley each scored 11.

The Racers managed to shoot 54 percent from the field (30-55), while the Eagles shot 39 percent (19-48).

Up until the second half run, the game was a close contest.

The Racers jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first 90 seconds when Tyler Holloway, Kevin Thomas, and Danero Thomas all scored. Holloway's three to start the game gave him five straight to start the season and his first three of the game was also his 100^th career three pointer.

The Racers were behind 30-29 with 3:07 left in the half, but ran off an 8-0 run to lead 37-30 after a basket by Bruce Carter with 36 seconds left.

GAME NOTES

Tyler Holloway hit his first two three point attempts in the game which gave him six in six tries this season. He missed his next attempt and the steak stopped at six straight. Holloway's first three of the game was his 100th career three pointer. He now had 101 and is four from catching Aubrey Reese (1997-00) for 11^th place on the all-time MSU three point shooting list.

With the win, MSU has now won four straight non-conference home games since losing to Southern Illinois in 2005. MSU is 27-5 in such games since 2000.

The Racers also moved their all-time mark in the RSEC to 107-21 (.835).

MSU had five players in double figure points and nearly had six. The last time MSU did that was against Morehead State at home last Feb. 10^th in a 74-62 win. That night the scoring went like this: Ray George 15, Tyler Holloway 11, Ed Horton 11, Shawn Witherspoon 10, and Marvin Williams 10.

Danero Thomas has now led the Racers in scoring in the first three games of the season and for the eighth in his career. His eight rebound performance means he also has a streak of four straight games dating back to the final game of last season in which he has at least five rebounds. Thomas also had five steals and now has a streak of six straight games with at least one steal. He's also made a three pointer in four straight games.

Bruce Carter has at least two rebounds in all 33 games he's played at Murray State.

The Racers host Arkansas State Monday at the RSEC in a 7 p.m. tip. It marks the first time ASU has played in the RSEC and the first time they've played in Murray since 1995 when the Racers won the game 94-82 at Racer Arena. MSU holds a 20-8 lead in the all-time series which began with a MSU road win in 1928. ASU has won three of the last five meetings. They two have not met since 1996 when MSU lost in Jonesboro 70-69 in the Citizen's Bank Classic. Billy Kennedy is 1-0 against ASU.