Racers Lose Late Lead At Chattanooga

Saturday, November 26

Chattanooga, Tenn.

6 p.m.

Murray State

3-3,0-0MVC

Chattanooga

3-3,0-0SoCon

Murray St.

Chattanooga

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

11/26/2022 6:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Murray State Racers Battled the Chattanooga Mocs Saturday at McKenzie Arena

The Murray State Racers had within their sights, a first road win of the 2022-23 season, but a late 10-0 run sent them to a 69-66 defeat to the Chattanooga Mocs at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Racers (3-3) come home for their Missouri Valley Conference opener, the first in school history, Thursday against Illinois State.

Rob Perry scored 22 points and Jamari Smith scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half on a night when he was bothered by foul trouble. DJ Burns scored 11 points, while he and Smith led the Racers with nine rebounds each.

Leading 34-30 at the halftime intermission, the Racers lost the lead for good with 4:07 remaining as UTC (3-3) pushed their run to 10-0 for a 65-57 advantage with 2:07 left. Perry, who scored the Racers' final seven points, hit a pair of free throws with 9.3 seconds on the clock to make it a 67-66 game. After a pair of Mocs free throws, Perry's 3-point try to force overtime was no good and the Mocs escaped with a three-point win.

Game Notes

It was a pithy first half with only five personal fouls called on either team. The Racers only went to the free throw line one time (0-1) and only four came for UTC (3-4).
The 22 points for Rob Perry and 27 for UTC's Jared Stephens marked the first time a Racer and the opponent have had a player each score 20-plus points since the Racers' OVC Tournament title game last March vs Morehead State. In that game, MSU's Tevin Brown scored 23 points and Morehead State's Johni Broome scored 32.
The Racers had less than 10 assists in each of their losses at Saint Louis (Nov. 7) with only seven and tonight with eight against UTC.
MSU has grabbed 26 offensive rebounds in the last two games against Tulsa and UTC.
This was MSU's first trip to McKenzie Arena since 2010 when they won 73-65.
The Racers are 7-3 all-time against Chattanooga.
The Racers host the Illinois State Redbirds Thursday at 7 p.m. in the CFSB Center in what will be a historic first as Murray State plays its first game in The Valley. To commemorate the occasion, CFSB is giving away 5,000 t-shirts to make the game a White Out at The Bank.