Murray State University Athletics
Saturday, March 17
4:15 p.m.
Murray State
53
vs
62
Marquette
Photo by: Tab Brockman
MSU's NCAA Run Ends With 62-53 Loss To Marquette
3/17/2012 9:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Boxscore I Boxscore (PDF) I Pregame Festivities |
1st Half Photo Gallery I 2nd Half Photo Gallery |
Postgame Quotes
The Murray State Racers fell short of their second NCAA Tournament win Saturday when they dropped a 62-53 loss to Marquette at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
The Racers were shooting to become the first team from the Ohio Valley Conference to win two games in the tournament since 1971. This was the third time in school history that the Racers had gotten to one win from advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16.
The Racers were led by Isaiah Canaan's 16 points and Jewuan Long who scored 12. MSU got a huge game from Ed Daniel with 13 rebounds to go with six points and two blocks.
Trailing by four with 13:01 remaining, the Racers dug in for a fight to the finish.
The Racers built a lead on the shoulders of rebounding machine Daniel and back to back threes from Donte Poole and Canaan. MSU's 12-3 run put them in front 46-41 with 7:36 remaining.
The question at that point was: could the Racers hold off the strong Marquette team from the Big East Conference?
The Golden Eagles held the Racers in check and answered with a game-changing 13-2 run over the 3:14 to lead 55-48 with 3:07 remaining. MSU never got the game back to a one possession game and drew as close as four points twice with the last time at :42 remaining. MU made 7-of-8 free throws to seal the win.
Shots didn't fall for most of the day for both teams. The Racers were 20-of-64 from the field for 31 percent, while MU was 21-of-55 for 38 percent. MSU was 4-of-21 from three-point range for 19 percent, while MU was 4-of-15 for 26 percent. MSU was 9-of-10 from the line and MU was 16-of-21.
The Racers helped their cause by winning the rebound battle 43-36. Ivan Aska was the second Racer in double-figures with 10 rebounds.
In the first half, MSU trailed 12-7 when they got the game to a speed more to their liking. Aska made a three-point play followed by two fast break finishes by Poole and Daniel to give the Racers an 18-14 lead with 6:06 before the half.
MSU pushed to their largest lead of the half at :47 when Daniel pulled down a rebound and fed Zay Jackson for a three for a 28-23 MSU lead. MSU got a stop and was playing for the final shot of the half when MU's Darius Johnson-Odom made a steal and scored at the buzzer to cut the Racers' lead at half to 28-25.
Game Notes
MSU ends one of the best seasons in 87 years of the program with a record-tying 31 wins, their 23rd OVC regular season title (Third straight outright), 15th OVC Tournament and NCAA appearance. MSU secured their 25th consecutive winning season which is surpassed only by Syracuse, Kansas and Arizona.
MSU enjoyed a record 12 straight weeks of being ranked and had program highs of 9th in the Associated Press poll and 7th in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
The Racers say goodbye to three seniors that make up the winningest class in the history of the program. Ivan Aska (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Jewuan Long (Jackson, Tenn.) and Donte Poole (Las Vegas, Nev.) were 104-28 (.787). They won three league titles outright and made two trips to the NCAA Tournament and one to the National Invitational Tournament. All three earned OVC honors this season: Poole was named to the OVC First Team, Aska to the OVC Second Team and Long was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Year.
Head Coach Steve Prohm becomes one of the most successful rookie coaches in history. His 23-0 start was the best in OVC history and the third-best all-time. His 31 wins is tied for second for rookie head coaches and his .939 winning percentage sixth all-time.
Before the game against Marquette, Prohm was honored by Basketball Times as its Coach of the Year.
The Racers had their third chance at getting to the NCAA Sweet 16. The first try came under Coach Steve Newton in 1988 when MSU beat North Carolina State and lost to Kansas. In 2010 under Coach Billy Kennedy, the Racers beat Vanderbilt and lost to Butler. MSU's 6-seed was a program-best passing the 9-seed they had in 1998. The Racers scored their third win in the tournament Thursday when they beat Colorado State 58-41.
Probably the most amazing record for MSU this season was their undefeated road record of 13-0. MSU was the only team in the nation to avoid a loss away from home and the first in 87 years of Racer Basketball.
The Racers also won the Great Alaska Shootout Championship during the week of Thanksgiving.
Junior Isaiah Canaan was named the OVC Player of the Year as he became a three-time all-league selection. Canaan has already been named as an All-America by the Sporting News and more awards are coming his way. He is currently being considered for the Cousy, Wooden, Naismith, Robertson and Henson Awards.
1st Half Photo Gallery I 2nd Half Photo Gallery |
Postgame Quotes
The Murray State Racers fell short of their second NCAA Tournament win Saturday when they dropped a 62-53 loss to Marquette at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
The Racers were shooting to become the first team from the Ohio Valley Conference to win two games in the tournament since 1971. This was the third time in school history that the Racers had gotten to one win from advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16.
The Racers were led by Isaiah Canaan's 16 points and Jewuan Long who scored 12. MSU got a huge game from Ed Daniel with 13 rebounds to go with six points and two blocks.
Trailing by four with 13:01 remaining, the Racers dug in for a fight to the finish.
The Racers built a lead on the shoulders of rebounding machine Daniel and back to back threes from Donte Poole and Canaan. MSU's 12-3 run put them in front 46-41 with 7:36 remaining.
The question at that point was: could the Racers hold off the strong Marquette team from the Big East Conference?
The Golden Eagles held the Racers in check and answered with a game-changing 13-2 run over the 3:14 to lead 55-48 with 3:07 remaining. MSU never got the game back to a one possession game and drew as close as four points twice with the last time at :42 remaining. MU made 7-of-8 free throws to seal the win.
Shots didn't fall for most of the day for both teams. The Racers were 20-of-64 from the field for 31 percent, while MU was 21-of-55 for 38 percent. MSU was 4-of-21 from three-point range for 19 percent, while MU was 4-of-15 for 26 percent. MSU was 9-of-10 from the line and MU was 16-of-21.
The Racers helped their cause by winning the rebound battle 43-36. Ivan Aska was the second Racer in double-figures with 10 rebounds.
In the first half, MSU trailed 12-7 when they got the game to a speed more to their liking. Aska made a three-point play followed by two fast break finishes by Poole and Daniel to give the Racers an 18-14 lead with 6:06 before the half.
MSU pushed to their largest lead of the half at :47 when Daniel pulled down a rebound and fed Zay Jackson for a three for a 28-23 MSU lead. MSU got a stop and was playing for the final shot of the half when MU's Darius Johnson-Odom made a steal and scored at the buzzer to cut the Racers' lead at half to 28-25.
Game Notes
MSU ends one of the best seasons in 87 years of the program with a record-tying 31 wins, their 23rd OVC regular season title (Third straight outright), 15th OVC Tournament and NCAA appearance. MSU secured their 25th consecutive winning season which is surpassed only by Syracuse, Kansas and Arizona.
MSU enjoyed a record 12 straight weeks of being ranked and had program highs of 9th in the Associated Press poll and 7th in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
The Racers say goodbye to three seniors that make up the winningest class in the history of the program. Ivan Aska (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Jewuan Long (Jackson, Tenn.) and Donte Poole (Las Vegas, Nev.) were 104-28 (.787). They won three league titles outright and made two trips to the NCAA Tournament and one to the National Invitational Tournament. All three earned OVC honors this season: Poole was named to the OVC First Team, Aska to the OVC Second Team and Long was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Year.
Head Coach Steve Prohm becomes one of the most successful rookie coaches in history. His 23-0 start was the best in OVC history and the third-best all-time. His 31 wins is tied for second for rookie head coaches and his .939 winning percentage sixth all-time.
Before the game against Marquette, Prohm was honored by Basketball Times as its Coach of the Year.
The Racers had their third chance at getting to the NCAA Sweet 16. The first try came under Coach Steve Newton in 1988 when MSU beat North Carolina State and lost to Kansas. In 2010 under Coach Billy Kennedy, the Racers beat Vanderbilt and lost to Butler. MSU's 6-seed was a program-best passing the 9-seed they had in 1998. The Racers scored their third win in the tournament Thursday when they beat Colorado State 58-41.
Probably the most amazing record for MSU this season was their undefeated road record of 13-0. MSU was the only team in the nation to avoid a loss away from home and the first in 87 years of Racer Basketball.
The Racers also won the Great Alaska Shootout Championship during the week of Thanksgiving.
Junior Isaiah Canaan was named the OVC Player of the Year as he became a three-time all-league selection. Canaan has already been named as an All-America by the Sporting News and more awards are coming his way. He is currently being considered for the Cousy, Wooden, Naismith, Robertson and Henson Awards.
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