Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Lyon College
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MSU Wins 19th Straight Home Opener - 84-46 Over Lyon
11/15/2008 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Murray State Racers posted their 19th consecutive home opening win Saturday with an 84-46 victory over
Kevin Thomas scored 18 points to lead the Racers to their 13th season opening win in the last 15.
The Murray State defense was in fine form in holding the Scots to only eight points in the opening 10 minutes of the first half in taking a 16-8 lead.
MSU blew the game open with a 15-3 run to take a 31-11 lead at the 4:13 mark of the half.
Kevin Thomas scored nine points in the final minutes of the half, and along with a dunk from Ivan Aska and a three-pointer from Tyler Holloway, the Racers ended the half in front 43-13.
In the second half, Ivan Aska's slam dunk on a fast break put the Racers out to their largest lead of the game at 52-21 with 14:54 left.
The Racers eventually led by 40 points with 3:00 left.
MSU's defense forced
The Racers ended the game shooting 46 percent from the field (26-56), and held the Scots to 34 percent (17-49).
Thomas added five assists and was 8-of-9 from the free throw line.
Matt Fraliex added 13 points, with Tony Easley throwing in 11, and MSU got 10 from Jeffery McClain.
Easley also grabbed 12 rebounds, while Aska had seven.
GAME NOTES
The Racers have won 19 straight home openers since a triple overtime loss at old Racer Arena to
Kevin Thomas pushed his streak with at least one assist to 30 consecutive games.
Tyler Holloway was 1-of-2 from three-point range giving him 151 for his career. He is 20 from passing Chris Shumate (170) for sixth place on the MSU list.
Tony Easley's double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds) is the third of his career at MSU.
The Racers are 23-7 under Billy Kennedy at the RSEC and 15-2 in the last two seasons.
The 46 points by the Scots was the fifth lowest by an opponent all-time at the RSEC.
MSU's next two games are Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. in
