Murray State Falls In San Juan 57-41 To Wright State

Monday, December 22

San Juan, Puerto Rico

2 p.m.

Murray State

Wright State

12/22/2008 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

The Murray State Racers dropped their final game at the San Juan Shootout Monday 57-41 to Wright State in the city of Tao Baja, Puerto Rico.

The Racers had difficulty making shots throughout the event and that trend continued against Wright State as MSU managed to shoot only 27 percent against the Raiders.

“Our effort and character are really good,” MSU Head Coach Billy Kennedy said. “Our guys played hard, but we have got to make some shots.”

MSU fell behind when Danero Thomas scored on a jumper, but the Racers were down 11-2 with 11:34 remaining in the half.

MSU made a run at the Raiders when Thomas scored a three-point play which was followed by another lay up off a great pass from Kevin Thomas to make it a 19-12 WSU lead.

The Racers cut the lead to four at 20-16 when Ivan Aska and Tyler Holloway each made a pair of free throws with 3:46 left in the half.

Jeffery McClain scored off an offensive rebound with 1:10 left to make it a 25-18 score in Wright State's favor at halftime.

The Racers' were behind 31-21 at the 15:20 mark in the second half when they made a push.

With 9:14 left, they cut the WSU lead to seven on a basket by Ivan Aska.

WSU increased their lead to 14 with 5:58 remaining and finished with a 57-41 final.

MSU had a poor shooting game making 13-of-47 shots from the field for 27 percent, while WSU shot 50 percent on 19-of-38 shooting.

MSU entered the San Juan event ranked third in the nation in free throw shooting, but struggled from the line against the Raiders and shot 53 percent making 15-of-28.

Danero Thomas led the Racers with 13 points.

He was also named to the San Juan Shootout All-Tournament Team. In the three games Thomas averaged 15 points per game.

Isacc Miles was the top rebounder for the Racers with seven.

Kennedy said the Racers will get past this shooting slump once they return to the practice floor.

“Get home,” he said. “That's a big part of it, we need to get home and get back into a good rhythm.”

“We need to get some confidence back on offense. I wish I could tell you...we just missed shots. We missed shots against South Florida; we made some in our win over Oral Roberts, but today missed shots. We've got to get home and get better and keep plugging away.”

The Racers' December schedule has been a tough one with all of their games away from home.

“We knew this was going to be a tough part of our schedule,” Kennedy said. “We need to continue playing hard and stay together. We've gathered a lot of experience on this trip to Puerto Rico.”

After a break for Christmas, the Racers return to action Dec. 29 at the Dr. Pepper Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn when they face Niagara at 5 p.m. central time.