Murray State
Eastern Illinois
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MSU Pushes RSEC Win Streak To Nine - 67-56 Over EIU
2/17/2008 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Murray State Racers pushed their home winning streak in the
With the Racers trailing 12-11 at the 12:39 mark, they started to put some distance between themselves and EIU.
Jewuan Long came off the bench and scored five straight points, followed by Ray George also off the bench for a three-point play and a 23-15 MSU lead at the 6:34 mark.
The half ended with the Racers outscoring the Panthers 7-2 in the final three minutes of the half for a 34-22 lead.
Bruce Carter had 13 points in the opening half on 5-of-9 shooting.
In the second half, MSU's lead quickly grew to 17 on baskets by Danero Thomas and Tony Easley, it was 43-26 with 14:57 remaining.
After the Panthers cut the lead to 11, MSU pushed it back to 18 (56-38) on back to-back three-pointers from Carter and Tyler Holloway.
EIU rallied again and cut the MSU lead to eight (57-49) with 3:53 left.
The Racers held the Panthers off from the free throw line where they made 8-of-12 in the final three minutes to secure the 67-56 final.
MSU Head Coach Billy Kennedy was pleased with the Racers' effort. "I thought we played real well as a team tonight, and we had good bench production,” Kennedy said. “Jewaun Long, Ray George, and Marvin Williams really provided us a lift.”
Indeed, the trio combined for 20 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
Kennedy and the Racers are all worn down from the grind of a long season, but it's something they must get through. “At this point in the year, guys are wearing down and getting tired, and it's important to get good bench play,” Kennedy said. “We won by sustaining our defense in the long haul, and getting to the free throw line and that was big. This was a good win for our team, it's good to be home.”
Carter scored 22 points to lead the Racers,
Danero Thomas had 10 rebounds.
MSU outrebounded EIU 36-26.
The Racers have all of next week off until they entertain the Indiana State Sycamores Saturday in the ESPNU BracketBusters series. Game time is 6 p.m. at the RSEC. ISU leads the all-time series with MSU 6-2, but the Racers won the last time they played in 2002.
The Sycamores defeated
GAME NOTES
The Racers now have a nine-game winning streak in the RSEC. MSU hasn't lost at home since Dec. 5 to
The Racers lead the all-time series with Eastern Illinois 27-7 and are 17-1 in
Bruce Carter now has 16 straight games with double-figure scoring. He's averaging 16.7 during this stretch and has four games of 20 or more points.
