Six Straight Wins - First Place Racers Win 66-53 At EIU

Monday, February 7

Charleston, Ill.

7:00 p.m.

Murray State

Eastern Illinois

Six Straight Wins - First Place Racers Win 66-53 At EIU

2/7/2011 11:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Boxscore

Boxscore(PDF)

The Murray State Racers completed a three-game road sweep and recorded their sixth straight win Monday with a 66-53 win over Eastern Illinois at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Ill.

The Racers (18-4) moved their first place mark in the Ohio Valley Conference to 10-3.

Trailing by three with 7:30 remaining MSU exploded for an 11-0 run and let their defense do the talking.

Isacc Miles hit a 3 and MSU got a steal which led to a Jeffery McClain layup as MSU held EIU to seven straight possessions with no points, Miles scored on the baseline and then fed Isaiah Canaan for another three and MSU had a 56-49 lead with 3:30 left.

At the 2:50 mark B.J. Jenkins hit a pair of free throws for a 10-point lead.

In the deciding part of the game, MSU outscored the Panthers 20-4 in the final 7:30.

MSU's fourth straight 20-point scorer was B.J. Jenkins with 21 with five three-point baskets to tie his career-high. Isaiah Canaan scored 16 points with Isacc Miles tossing in 11. Donte Poole scored nine points and led MSU with eight rebounds.

Facing EIU's zone and post trapping defense, the Racers took a season-high 26 three-point shots and hit 12, which was one off their season-best.

In the First half, MSU used a 14-2 run to get back in the game trailing by four with 6:15 left when Jenkins got a steal and fed McClain for slam. MSU followed with three-pointers from Jenkins and Canaan, which he turned into the rare four-point play when he was fouled. Canaan hit another three and MSU led 25-17 with 3:40 left.

MSU got a steal with four seconds left but couldn't score and led at the half 25-22.

NOTES

MSU leads the all-time series with EIU 34-8 and are 13-5 at Lantz Arena and have won the last three since an overtime loss in 2008.

Isacc Miles and Isaiah Canaan kept some impressive three-point streaks going tonight. Miles has hit a three in 11 straight games and Cannan 10. Canaan hit a three in 17 straight games last season.

MSU's 12 made threes in the game which was one off their season-high of 13 against UT Martin (Jan. 29). They attempted a season-high 24 which eclipsed the 22 they took against Western Kentucky (Dec. 18).

The Racers have successfully navigated the toughest road trip of their season and have did it with wins at Tennessee State 74-65 on Thursday, 67-58 at Austin Peay Saturday and tonight at EIU.

MSU will be happy to return to the CFSB Center Thursday to take on Tennessee Tech and Saturday Jacksonville State. Both games are women's-men's double-headers with the tip of the first game each night happening at 5:15 p.m.