Poor Shooting Night Dooms Murray State vs ETSU

Monday, November 15

CFSB Center

7:30 p.m.

Murray State

East Tennessee State

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

11/22/2021 1:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Murray State Racers had a bad night shooting the basketball in a loss to the Bucs at the Naples Invitational

The Murray State Racers saw their three-game winning start to the 2021-22 season end with a 66-58 loss to the East Tennessee Buccaneers in the first round of the Naples Invitational. The Racers play their second game of the event Tuesday when they meet Long Beach for the first time in program history in a 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time tip at the Community School of Naples Field House in Naples, Florida.

On a night when an invisible force seemingly kept the ball from going through the net, the Racers (3-1) were led by KJ Williams who had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Tevin Brown added 12 points and Trae Hannibal 10 points.

The competitive first half began with the Bucs taking a six-point lead before the Racers answered with a 15-7 run to take the lead with 9:15 before half. The game was tied again 26-26 at the 4:00 mark before ETSU hit a 3-pointer for a 29-26 lead. DaQuan Smith hit the Racers' first and what turned out to be MSU's only 3-pointer of the game to make a 32-29 ETSU lead at halftime.

ETSU opened the second half with a 14-6 run and made the Racers play from behind the rest of the way.

After tailing by as many as 16 points with 9:30 remaining, the Racers made a run late in the game to cut the lead to 61-57 with 1:36 left on a Williams shot in the lane. MSU never got the ball with a chance to tie the game.

The Racers never got on the right track on offense with a game shooting percentage of 42 percent (23-of-55) including a 1-of-16 night from the 3-point line. MSU also committed 17 turnovers and did outscore ETSU 44-28 in the paint.

Game Notes
The Racers had won the last three in the series with ETSU and are now 24-20 overall.
Today's game was the first meeting between the two since 2010.
The Racers will meet Long Beach for the first time when they play Tuesday.
Tevin Brown saw his 21-game stretch of making at least one 3-point basket end with a 0-of-6 night.
Brown still sits at 261 in career made threes as he chases the all-time records at MSU of Isaiah Canaan (304 from 2009-13) and in the OVC of Austin Peay's Joe Sibbitt (309 from 1994-98).
KJ Williams record his first double-double of the season and the 18th of his career.
Williams now has 631 career rebounds, tied for 21^st place at MSU with Jarvis Williams who had the same from 2013-15.
The Racers only made one 3-pointer tonight, but at least they didn't add to the list of games in which they were shut out from the long shot.
The last time MSU failed to hit a three was against Austin Peay in 2009 when they were 0-of-15. MSU had another in 2008 in the San Juan Shootout against Wright State (0-of-15) and another in 2006 against Samford when they went 0-of-6 and broke a streak of 581 games in which they had made at least one 3-pointer.

2021 Naples Invitational
Community School of Naples Gymnasium
Naples, Florida – Nov. 22-24, 2021

Nov. 22
12 p.m. ET – Kent State 74 James Madison 69
2:30 p.m. ET – Wright State 63 George Washington 74
5:30 p.m. ET – ETSU 66 Murray State 58
8:00 p.m. ET – Missouri State 92 Long Beach State 66

Nov. 23
12 p.m. ET – James Madison vs Wright State
2:30 p.m. ET – Murray State vs Long Beach
5:30 p.m. ET – Kent State vs George Washington
8:00 p.m. ET – Missouri State vs ETSU

Nov. 24
12 p.m. ET – 7^th place game
2:30 p.m. ET – 5^th place game
5:30 p.m. ET – 3^rd place game
8:00 p.m. ET – Championship game

Murray State Spirit Night With Memphis Grizzlies
return to Memphis for another Murray State Spirit Night at the Grizzlies game Saturday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. when the Grizzlies and former Racer and NBA all-star, Ja Morant, host the Houston Rockets at the FedExForum. A pre-game party will be held at the brand-new location of Ghost River Brewing Co. on Beale Street, directly across from FedExForum, from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Free food (while it lasts), loads of swag and a cash bar will be provided. To add a bit of sparkle to the celebration, the annual Memphis Holiday Parade will also take place on Beale Street at 3 p.m. and Ghost River Brewing Co. will be the perfect viewing location.

Also that weekend at the FedExForum, the Murray State Racer Men's Basketball team will take on the University of Memphis Tigers Friday, Dec. 10. Tickets can be purchased through the University of Memphis box office.

Make plans to spend the weekend as Racer Nation takes over Bluff City! For more information on either game, call (270) 809-5600.

Racers Selected For Two Home Games On ESPNU
The Murray State men's basketball is hosting a pair of televised home games on ESPNU as announced by the Ohio Valley Conference for the 2021-22 season. The Racers will appear on ESPNU (Feb. 17) when they host the Austin Peay Governors at the CFSB Center in a 6 p.m. tip. The second game happens at home (Feb. 24) against the Belmont Bruins in a tip off of 8 p.m. Both of the TV games for the Racers come on Thursday nights. The OVC schedule has a total of nine total men's basketball televised games (six regular season contests and three OVC Tournament games) to be aired by one of the ESPN networks during the 2021-22 season. This includes three nights of coverage at the OVC Tournament (March 4-5) at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

Mini-Ticket Plans Available
Fans can purchase season tickets and the Navy & Gold Mini ticket plans at Racer Mania. The mini plans are a great way for Racer Nation to enjoy Murray State games with general admission tickets. Each mini plan is $50 for one general admission ticket to five games. All of the games offered in the ticket plans are doubleheaders except for the stand-alone men's game vs Middle Tennessee (Dec. 4). Call the ticket office at (270) 809-3000 to purchase a ticket plan.

NAVY TICKET PLAN
Dec. 4, 2021     Sat.     Middle Tennessee
Dec. 30, 2021   Thu.     Southeast Missouri (DH)
Jan. 22, 2022   Sat.     UT Martin (DH)
Jan. 29, 2022   Sat.     Morehead State (DH)
Feb. 17, 2022    Thu.     Austin Peay (DH)

GOLD TICKET PLAN
Dec. 18, 2021    Sat.     Chattanooga (WBB vs Lipscomb)
Jan. 1, 2022      Sat.     Tennessee Tech (DH)
Jan. 20, 2022   Thu.     Eastern Illinois (DH)
Feb. 5, 2022     Sat.     SIUE (DH)
Feb. 24, 2022   Thu.     Belmont (DH)

Racer Basketball Legacy Fund
The new fundraising initiative invites Racer supporters to have a lasting impact on the Murray State men's and women's basketball programs. Those interested in learning more about how you can support the Racer Basketball Legacy Fund initiative may contact Director of Development-Athletics, Taylor Mudd at (270) 809-3517 or tmudd3@murraystate.edu for more information.