Racers Outlast Bradley To Win MVC Opener

Wednesday, November 29

CFSB Center

7 p.m.

Murray State

Bradley

Photo by: David Eaton-Murray State Athletics

11/29/2023 10:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Murray State Racers opened play in the Missouri Valley Conference for a second-straight season

The Murray State Racers made eight-straight free throws to clinch their Missouri Valley Conference opener 79-72 over the Bradley Braves at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.

The Racers (3-3, 1-0 MVC) hit the road Sunday for a 2 p.m. tip against the Illinois State Redbirds at Doug Collins Court at CEFCU Arena in Normal, Ill.

Rob Perry and JaCobi Wood each tallied 19 points to lead the Murray State attack against the previously undefeated Braves, while Brian Moore, Jr. added 14 points.

Coming out of leading by 10 at halftime, the Racers pushed to their largest lead of the day 45 seconds into the second half on a basket by Moore.

Bradley cut the MSU lead to 61-65 as the game hit the 4:00 mark, but the Racers held the Braves off on the strength of hitting 8-10 from the free throw line. Before MSU's free throw parade, Quincy Anderson took a charge and scored in the lane with 1:20 remaining for a 71-63 lead.

In the first half, the Racers got hot and it was mostly JaCobi Wood, who hit four-straight shots, including three-straight threes. Wood made a steal and scored with 3:46 left which gave MSU their largest lead of the game at nine points at 38-29 on a 17-9 run. Perry scored twice and gave the Racers an 11-point lead at 32-31 with 43.8 left. The Racers went into the halftime intermission with a 42-32 lead.

The Racers had a great day on offense in hitting 53 percent (27-51) from the field and 20-26 from the free throw line for 77 percent.

Game Notes

The Racers moved to 3-1 at home this season and 14-3 in the last two home seasons at the CFSB Center.
In the first half, the Racers were 10-of-11 from the free throw line and scored 20 of their 42 points in the paint.
MSU hit six-straight field goals from the 10:33 mark of the first half to the 6:12 mark with Wood hitting four of the shots, three of which were 3-pointers.
Wood's first half stat line was impressive: 13pts, 4-5FG (3-4 3PT), 2-2FT, 3R and a pair of steals, all in 16:18 of floor time.
The Racers committed 10 fouls in the first half, but turned that around by giving only one foul at the 6:16 mark of the second half.
MSU only hit five 3-point baskets in 20 tries, but made up for it by hitting 22-31 in two-point tries for 70 percent.

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