Murray State University Athletics
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Racers Hit The Road For "Death Valley"
2/4/2008 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Murray State Racers are very happy to be finished with a stretch of games in which they played five times in eight days.
MSU Head Coach Billy Kennedy is too.
“I'm really looking forward to a few days of practice,” Kennedy said today to the gathered media members at MSU's weekly news conference. “Having three days to get better and prepare for the EKU-Morehead trip is good, and we're able to catch our breath. Lately, we haven't had more than one day to get ready for the next game.”
Kennedy is looking forward to working with the team to solve some defensive lapses that showed up last week.
“I was disappointed that we gave up 58 points in the second half (to
“There are a lot of games to be played and complacency is a disease to success,” Kennedy added. “We had some guys out there just playing with no purpose, and we can't allow that to happen.”
The Racers will make the “Death Valley” trip this week with a Thursday 8 p.m. CST game at
MSU will try and shake a three-game losing streak to the Colonels. The last two losses have come when EKU's Mike Rose hit late three-point baskets.
“They have four players from their title team from last season,” Kennedy said. “Rose and Adam Leonard present a problem and Darnell Dialls has become a major player for them.”
Kennedy added the Racers have played well against
The play of sophomore Marvin Williams has been encouraging for the Racers. The 6-5 forward came off the bench in Saturday's 95-85 win over
“Marvin is really playing well,” Kennedy said. “He is a defensive rebounding presence and he can score around the basket. It was good to see him get a double-double against JSU.”
The Racers are 14-8 overall and stand in second place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 10-4 mark.
“We're winning, but not playing our best,” Kennedy said. “If we improve we're going to be great down the stretch.”
“We've got a good group with good character, when our two seniors (Bruce Carter and Ray George) are on target we're really good,” Kennedy added. “When those two play at a high level, we can be a championship team.”
This decade, MSU has swept the EKU-Morehead trip twice and have been swept once. Three times, they have split. Since 1990, MSU is 23-11 on the “
