Murray State
Jacksonville State
MSU Finds A Way To Win-63-61 At JSU
2/3/2007 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Murray State Racers overcame a turnover plagued first half at Jacksonville State Saturday but still managed to slug out a 63-61 victory to push their record in the Ohio Valley Conference to 10-5 and 12-11 overall.
The Racers didn't burn up the nets in the first half, but their calling card this season has been defense, and that didn't let them down.
Trailing 12-10 at the 10:55 mark of the first half, the Racers put together a 7-0 run to take a 17-12 lead on a fast break dunk by Tony Easley.
JSU had a 29-25 lead when Smith hit a runner down the lane with 1:28 left.
Shawn Witherspoon's three-pointer cut the JSU lead to one with 48 seconds left, but Smith hit two free throws to finish the scoring for the first half with the Gamecocks leading 31-28.
The Racers struggled on offense and had as many turnovers (11) as field goals in the first half. MSU shot 44 percent from the field (11-25) while
MSU eliminated the turnover problem in the second half and built a 48-42 lead after a 20-11 run. After a MSU steal, Bruce Carter hit a three on the ensuing fast break with 11:40 remaining in the game.
Ray George gave MSU a 51-42 advantage with another three-pointer at the 10:35 mark.
However, the Racers would not be able to leave
JSU battled back to three points with 4:00 left and tied the game on a long three-pointer by Courtney Bradley, the score was 59-59.
After a MSU turnover, the Gamecocks took a two point lead with 2:30 left on a rebound slam by Erik Adams.
The Racers tied the score at 61-61 with 2:02 left on a short jumper by Witherspoon.
After a JSU miss, Bruce Carter scored driving to the basket for a 63-61 MSU lead with 26 seconds left. MSU held JSU to a miss, but Carter was called for traveling giving JSU another chance with 11 seconds left.
JSU got off three shots in the final ticks of the clock but could get none of them to go down as the Racers survived.
Ray George led the Racers with 16, Witherspoon tossed in 15 with 13 coming from Carter.
GAME NOTES
MSU had 11 turnovers in the first half, but didn't commit their first of the second half until the 8:03 mark
Shawn Witherspoon began the night needing 26 points to join the MSU 1,000-Point Club and scored 15. He can get the coveted 1,000th point Thursday in front of the home fans when the Racers host Eastern Kentucky at the
