Murray State University Athletics
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MSU Plays In New Arena At Samford
12/19/2007 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Murray State
(5-3) (2-1 OVC)
at
Samford
(4-5) (1-1 OVC)
Tue. Dec. 20, 2007 7:30 p.m.
Pete Hanna Center
Birmingham, Ala.
The Murray State Racers play the second of two games in Alabama Thursday night when they take on the Samford Bulldogs at the brand new Pete Hanna Center in a 7:30 p.m. contest. The Racers are 5-3 and 2-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference after coming away from Jacksonville State Tuesday with a 79-65 victory, their second straight since a league opening loss to Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 5. In the JSU win, the Racers were paced by four players in double-figures, and more than had career highs. Danero Thomas led the way with 20 points, his career best in a Racer uniform. Tony Easley had 12 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double, and Georges Fotso's seven points was his best at MSU. Tyler Holloway and Ray George added 14 and 11 points to the MSU cause.
The Racers and Bulldogs haven't played many games, but do have a history that dates back to their first meeting when the Racers won in Murray at Lovett Auditorium 41-26 in 1934. The first five meetings between the two were contested when Samford was known as Howard College. They did not play from 1983 to 2004 when Samford joined the OVC. Since then, the Bulldogs have carved out a 5-3 advantage with two wins last season in Murray including a 70-60 victory at the Regional Special Events Center in the OVC Tournament quarterfinals that ended the Racers' season. MSU scored their first win at Samford Jan. 29 57-51 in what was their last trip to Seibert Hall.
Samford opened the new Pete Hanna Center Nov.15 with an 82-73 loss to Belmont in front of 5,170 fans. The Bulldogs also lost at the new arena to Towson (73-66), before beating Brewton-Parker (73-30) and Jacksonville State (41-34).The Bulldogs lost their first OVC game in the new arena Tuesday when Southeast Missouri State hit a buzzer three-pointer to win 63-62.
GAME NOTES
LESS IS MORE:
The Racers are 9-2 over the last two seasons when holding their opponent to under 60 points including a 2-1 mark this season. MSU is 3-6 during the same period when scoring less than 60 points.MSU VISITS UTC: The Racers will return to UT-Chattanooga for the first time since 2001 when they play the Mocs Dec. 29 in UTC's Dr. Pepper Holiday Classic. MSU plays UTC on the 29th at 7pm central time after Belmont takes on Wright State. The four teams pair up for the third place and championship games on the 30th. The Racers have faced Wright State only one time, in 1990 and haven't played Belmont since 1998.
HOLLOWAY AND THE THREE: Take a look at the all-time three point shooters at Murray State and how Tyler Holloway ranks.
MSU CAREER MADE 3-POINT SHOTS
1. Frank Allen 1989-93 251
2. Don Mann 1986-89 204
3. Justin Burdine 1998-02 198
4. Marcus Brown 1993-96 173
Paul King 1987-91 173
6. Chris Shumate 1999-04 170
7. Rick Jones 2002-04 133
8. Antoine Whelchel 2000-04 124
9. William Moore 1994-95 123
10. Tyler Holloway 2005- 112
Aaron Page 1996-00 107
12. Aubrey Reese 1997-00 105
MSU CAREER 3-POINT PERCENTAGE
1. Jeff Martin 1986-89 .449
2. Don Mann 1986-89 .421
3. Cedric Gumm 1990-94 .418
4. Chris Shumate 1999-04 .412
5. De'Teri Mayes 1996-98 .411
6. Terence Brooks 1987-89 .404
7. William Moore 1994-95 .403
8. Paul King 1987-91 .402
9. Rick Jones 2002-04 .393
10. Tyler Holloway 2005- .391
11. Justin Burdine 1998-02 .349
