Murray State
UT Martin
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Big Monday - MSU Topples UTM 74-59
2/23/2009 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Murray State Racers defended their home court Monday with a 74-59 victory over UT Martin in front of 4,214 at the
The Racers took on the Ohio Valley Conference first place team and won the game with a large dose of defense.
MSU's defensive effort held the Skyhawks to 37 percent shooting from the field (24-of-65) and eight percent from three-point range (2-of-24). The nation's second leading scorer UTM's Lester Hudson was held to less than 20 points for the first time in 28 games dating back to the last time MSU defeated UTM at the RSEC March 1, 2008.
MSU trailed by nine early, led by 12 at the half and won going away in improving their overall mark to 16-11 and 11-5 in the OVC while UTM fell to 19-8 and 12-4.
MSU Head Coach Billy Kennedy said the Racers' effort on Hudson and his scoring mate Marquis Weddle (held to 10 points) was a major factor in the win.
“That was huge,” Kennedy said. “
“We wanted to limit Hudson and Weddle, but they're great players,” Kennedy added. “I thought we wore them down a little and they were tired in the second half.”
The Racers didn't start the first half well, but ended it with a bang.
After falling behind by nine at 14:04, MSU took their first lead at 3:09 on a Miles coast-to-coast drive for a 25-24 lead.
MSU finished the half with a 15-4 run including back-to-back three-point baskets from Tyler Holloway and Matt Fraliex for a 40-28 halftime lead.
MSU's lead went to 15 quickly in the second half when Danero Thomas finished a fast break on a pass from Miles, MSU led 43-28 with 18:36 remaining.
Twice MSU pushed the lead to 11 at 8:32 and 7:25 on shots by Miles and Ivan Aska.
After UTM cut the MSU lead to seven at 56-49, Tyler Holloway hit a tough leaner in the lane and MSU took a nine-point lead again with 5:42 left.
MSU hit the gas pedal again and pushed their lead to 18 at 67-49 with 2:50 left on a Holloway jumper in the lane, a three from the corner by Danero Thomas, plus a pair of free throws each from Miles and Aska.
News of Isacc Miles getting close to a triple-double was buzzing through the stands late in the game, and also on the Racer bench as he was told he only needed one rebound to get the prized mark.
Miles secured the feat with his 10th rebound with 1:17 left.
“Coach Chew told me I needed one rebound for a triple-double,” Miles said. “I didn't even know I was close. I had one in high school, but not since.”
“Isacc is the heart of our team right now,” Kennedy said. “To get a triple-double, that's great, he did everything he could do to help us win.”
Freshman Ivan Aska scored a career-high 23 topping the 20 he scored early in the season against
“I prepare myself for every game,” Aska said. “Many people don't get the chance to play ball and I'm glad to have the opportunity.”
Danero Thomas scored 15 points and Tyler Holloway's 13 gave the Racers four players in double-figures.
With Thursday's home game with
“That's what we've been trying to get our guys to focus on,” Kennedy said. “We can do some things, and I know the
GAME NOTES
The Racers four-game home stand to end the regular season continues Thursday when they host the Morehead State Eagles to the RSEC for an 8 p.m. tip on ESPNU. Dave Weekly and Mark Adams will call the action. The pair also called the MSU-Austin Peay game on Jan. 10.
Both teams started cold from the field. MSU was 6-of-23 for 26 percent and UTM was 7-of-22 for 32 percent in the first 15 minutes of the game. The Racers finished the half hitting 9-of-11, while UTM hit only 3-of-8.
The Racers defended UTM's three-point shot effectively in the first half holding the Skyhawks to 1-of-10. MSU's defensive half also included holding UTM's Hudson and Weddle to a combined 3-of-19 from the field. For the game, MSU held the pair to 8-of-37 from the field and 2-of-18 from three-point range.
Miles' 11 assists was one off the RSEC record of 12 by Aubrey Reese against
The game was a battle between the best defense in the OVC in MSU (opponents scoring 62.6 points per game) and the best scoring offense (UTM scoring 79.3 points per game).
Aska's 23 points, nine field goals, and 35 minutes on the floor were all career-highs as a Racer.
MSU is now 19-0 all-time against UTM in
The Racers record in the RSEC in 11 seasons is 128-25 (.836), and their OVC mark improved to 9-15 (.857).
Billy Kennedy is 5-1 against the Skyhawks.
Tyler Holloway moved into second place on the MSU all-time list for made three-point baskets with 205. He passed Don Mann (1986-89) who has 202. First place still belongs to Frank Allen (1989-93) who has 251.
MSU has held opponents to 60 or less points in eight of their last 10 games and have won all eight.
