Racers Produce Great First Half - But Fall At Tennessee

Tuesday, November 12

Knoxville, Tenn

8 p.m.

Murray State

1-1,0-0OVC

Tennessee

2-0,0-0SEC

Murray St.

Tennessee

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

Racers Produce Great First Half - But Fall At Tennessee

11/12/2019 11:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Murray State Racers held the lead until 10:44 remaining before falling to the Tennessee Volunteers 82-63 Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.

The Racers (1-1) got 17 points and six assists from Tevin Brown, while Jaiveon Eaves scored 13 points and KJ Williams added 10 points. Anthony Smith grabbed seven rebounds.

Leading 44-35 at the half, the Racers held the lead until the 10:36 mark. In the final 10-plus minutes of the game, MSU just went cold and hit only 4-of-14 from the field. The Vols got hot and outscored the Racers 23-4 to the finish.

The optimism Murray State enjoyed in the first half was well earned, as MSU hit 15-of-30 from the field for 50 percent and hit 57 percent from the 3-point line on 8-of-14.

DaQuan Smith's 3-pointer with 10:50 in the first half gave the Racers an 8-0 run for a 18-13 lead. The Racers went ahead by 10 points on Smith's layup with 4:10 to go. MSU's largest lead of the day came with 1:58 in the half when Eaves scored for a 12-point lead.

The Racers held their own on the boards and trailed UT only 35-34 in the rebound stat. For the game, the Racers shot 41 percent from the field on 23-of-56, while the Vols shot 50 percent on 29-of-58.

Murray State is back at home in the CFSB Center for a 7:30 p.m. game with Brescia.

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Game Notes

The Racers are 0-4 all-time against Tennessee.
MSU's last win over a team from the SEC remains their 79-59 win over Auburn at the Charleston Classic.
This game at UT marked the fifth-straight year that the Racers have played an SEC team. Recent games include games with Georgia (2015), Ole Miss (2016) and Auburn (2017 & 2018).
Tevin Brown hit 5-of-10 from the 3-point line tonight. He's 7-of-16 in the first two games of the season.
KJ Williams continues to shoot at a high percentage in the paint. He was 4-of-6 tonight and is 10-of-14 in the first two games of the season. Two of his made shots tonight were 3-point baskets.

DT Mayes To Be Honored In Murray State Hall of Fame
Saturday's game will see the 2019 class of the Murray State Hall of Fame honored at halftime. The class consists of Coach Connie Keasling (1984-87, 1992-11) of women's tennis, football's Rob Hart (1995-99) and Austin Lane (2006-09), Stevon Roberts (1990-93) and Siebert Straughn (1989-02) of men's track & field. MSU women's track & field sprinter Alexis Love (2009-13) is also part of the 2019 class along with De'Teri Mayes (1996-98) of men's basketball, Morgan Hicks (2001-04) of rifle and women's track & field and basketball pioneer Pat Ward-Seib (1967-71).

The 37th class to the MSU Hall of Fame has a men's basketball presence in De'Teri Mayes. Known as one of the top two-year players to ever suit up for the Racers, Mayes' career at Murray State last 63 games, but produced 1,340 points, more than half way to the all-time scoring mark of Jeff Martin's 2,484. Mayes' mark stood for 20 seasons as the top two-year scoring mark in MSU history, until Jonathan Stark (2016-18) scored 1,408 points.

RACER BASKETBALL RIVALRY TICKET PACKAGE – LIMITED TIME ONLY
Murray State Athletics announced a special offer for Racer fans with a rivalry ticket package which includes some of the biggest games the Racers' men's team will play in the 2019-20 season. For a limited time, tickets to the men's rivalry games with Southern Illinois, Middle Tennessee, Belmont and Austin Peay can be purchased in a general admission ticket for only $44 for four men's and three women's games. Ticket purchases can be made by calling the CFSB Center at 270-809-3000, in person, or online at ticketmaster.com.

The rivalry ticket package includes these games at the CFSB Center in Murray.
•       Nov. 19 (M) Southern Illinois 7p
•       Dec. 7 (W) Lipscomb 5p, (M) Middle Tennessee 7p
•       Jan. 23 Belmont (W) 3p & (M) 6p
•       Feb. 29 Austin Peay (W) 5p & (M) 7p

GLOBETROTTERS VISIT CFSB CENTER - JAN. 15
After wowing fans inside the CFSB Center in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2008, 2017 and 2019, the worldwide sensation Harlem Globetrotters have announced they will return to Murray State University for a seventh time on Jan. 15, 2020. Tickets can be purchased starting ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. Guests may also visit the CFSB Center ticket office, located at 1401 State Route 121 North, Murray, Ky 42071 (Lower A Entrance) or by calling 260-809-3000.