Racers Face Down Pressure Cooker at Illinois State

Wednesday, February 15

Normal, Ill,

7 p.m.

Murray State

14-13,9-8MVC

Illinois State

10-18,5-12MVC

Murray St.

Illinois St.

2/15/2023 7:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Murray State Racers scored their third road win of the season with a last second defensive stand

The Murray State Racers held off the Illinois State Redbirds to notch their third road win of the season 76-75 at CEFCU Arena in Normal.

The Racers (14-13) improved to 9-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference as they come home to face the Evansville Purple Aces Saturday at the CFSB Center in a 3 p.m. tip.

Rob Perry scored 22 of his game-high 25 points in the first half, while the Racers got excellent production off the bench from Kenny White, Jr. (16 points) and Quincy Anderson (15 points). Jamari Smith gave MSU four in double-figures with 11 points.

ISU whittled away at MSU's 11-point lead with 5:55 remaining. After White scored on three-straight possessions, the Racers' still had to get one more stop with a one-point lead with under 10 seconds remaining. ISU turned the ball over maneuvering for a game winning shot as time expired.

The game turned in the first half when the Racers outscored the Redbirds 20-8 in the final 7:30 fueled by Perry and Anderson who combined for four-consecutive 3-point baskets for a 40-35 MSU lead at halftime.

Game Notes

Today's contest was game 27 of the 30-game regular season and game 17 of the 20-game MVC season.
Perry's 22 first half points is the best for the Racers this season. JaCobi Wood had 17 at Drake.
Perry has 20 games of double-digit scoring this season and seven of 20-points or more.
This was Perry's first 20-point game since the game at UNI (Jan. 10) when he scored 22.
Anderson was a game-changer in his season-high 32:57 on the floor. His stat line was: 6-of-7FG, 2-of-3 3Pt, 1-of-1 FT, 4R and no turnovers.
The Racers now lead the all-time series with Illinois State 7-1 and are 2-1 at ISU with one loss there in 2015.
MSU has three regular season games remaining this season. The Racers host Evansville Saturday and Valparaiso (Feb. 26). Sandwiched between is a road game (Feb. 21) at Missouri State.
The Racers are 9-2 at home this season - losses to Southern Illinois and Drake.
MSU 24-2 at home in the last two seasons.
The Racers are aiming for their best seed at State Farm Arch Madness (March 2-5) the MVC Tournament in St. Louis where all 12 Valley teams will be participating.