Racers Blitz Evansville With Big Second Half

Saturday, February 18

Murray, Ky.

3 p.m.

Murray State

15-13,10-8MVC

Evansville

5-24,1-17MVC

Evansville

Murray St.

Photo by: David Eaton-Murray State Athletics

2/18/2023 6:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Racers pushed their home mark at the CFSB Center to 10-2 this season

While the Racers pushed their home mark to 10-2, they improved to 10-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference as they hit the road for Missouri State and a Tuesday 6 p.m. tip in Springfield and return home Saturday (Nov. 26) to host Valparaiso. State Farm Arch Madness is in St. Louis, March 2-5.

The Racers (15-13) were powered by 18 points each from Jamari Smith and Brian Moore, Jr., and a second-straight great game off the bench from Quincy Anderson with 15 points. DJ Burns, limited to 16 minutes of floor time because of foul problems, still managed to score nine points and grab eight rebounds.

Trailing by a point at 16:51 in the second half, the Racers got the run they needed. In the 19-6 burst, MSU had five different players score for a 52-40 lead, capped by Burns' coast-to-coast play with 10:20 remaining. The Racers led by as many as 16 before UE cut the lead to eight points at 5:16. The Racers hit 13-of-13 from the free throw line in the second half to secure the win.

Game Notes

The Racers sweep the two-game season series with the Purple Aces and have won three of the last four dating back to 2016.
The Racers are 28-13 all-time vs UE and now 16-4 at home.
With the win, Coach Steve Prohm tied Ron Greene (1978-85) for fourth place on the all-time wins list at MSU with 119.
The top-3 are: Carlisle Cutchin, 16 seasons (1925-41) 256-92 .736, Cal Luther, 16 seasons (1958-74) 241-154 .610, Matt McMahon, 7 seasons (2015-22) 154-67 .696.
Prohm's record at MSU is now 119-42. His current winning percentage of .739 is first at MSU among coaches that have led the program for five or more seasons.
Anderson's week has been great as he figured heavily in wins at Illinois State and home against Evansville.
Anderson's two-game totals include: 11-of-15 FG, 5-of-8 3PT, 3-of-3 FT for 30 points and a 15.0ppg average.
MSU's second half was an impressive performance as they hit 16-of-28 from the field for 57 percent and they crushed it at the free throw line in making 13-of-13.
With a crowd of 5,437 today, the Racers have nine this season of 5,000 or more.
The Racers are averaging 5,208 per game, tops in the MVC.
When the Racers play their final home game of the season (Nov. 26) against Valparaiso, they will honor Rod Thomas and DJ Burns on Senior Day.