Murray State University Athletics
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UNLV
Racers Fall 69-55 To UNLV At 76 Classic Semifinals
11/26/2010 7:51:11 PM | Men's Basketball
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The Murray State Racers fell 69-55 to UNLV Friday in the semi-finals of the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif., at the Anaheim Convention Center.
The Racers (3-2) will face Oklahoma State in the 76 Classic third place game Sunday at 5 p.m. central time.
When the dust settled, MSU Head Coach Billy Kennedy knew his Racers had run up against a tough opponent.
“Probably the best team we've played the whole year,” Kennedy said. “You have to give them a lot of credit. They set the tone defensively. We didn't handle it the 1st half, and it was catch-up the whole game.”
“We had some opportunities offensively, but we didn't execute offensively,” Kennedy added. “But we didn't get a couple of breaks, we played hard defensively. We just couldn't guard them.”
MSU took a 6-5 lead at 17:52 of the first half when Isacc Miles hit a three-pointer, but UNLV answered with a 15-5 run to take a 20-11 run with 12:53 before half.
MSU made a move and cut the lead to 25-19 on a pair of Isaiah Canaan free throws at the 5:02 mark, but the Rebels finished the half with a 9-3 run to lead 34-22 at halftime.
In the second half, MSU got as close as seven at 43-36 with 14:24 left, but never got any closer.
UNLV increased their lead to 63-41 with 7:20 left.
The Racers were led by 11 points each from Isacc Miles and Isaiah Canaan. Mile was 4-7 from the field, while Canaan was 3-11.
B.J. Jenkins led MSU's rebounding effort with a career-high six boards as MSU won the stat 30-25.
MSU ended the game shooting 34 percent (16-46), while UNLV was 58 percent (27-46).
The meeting between Murray State and UNLV was their third and first since 1982. The Rebels have won all three.
