Road Woes - Racers Fall at Missouri State - Murray State University Athletics

Tuesday, February 21

Springfield, Mo.

6 p.m.

Murray State

15-14,10-9MVC

Missouri State

15-14,11-8MVC

Murray St.

Missouri St.

Photo by: Copyright Missouri State University

Road Woes - Racers Fall at Missouri State

2/21/2023 6:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Racers dropped to 10-9 in The Valley with the regular season finale coming Sunday against Valparaiso

The Murray State Racers dropped an 84-69 loss Tuesday to the Missouri State Bears at the Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield.

The Racers (15-14) are 10-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference as they come home to the CFSB Center Sunday for the regular season finale against the Valparaiso Beacons. Tip off time is set for 3 p.m. on Senior Day.

Rob Perry scored 20 points, while JaCobi Wood added 16 and the Racers had 10 points each from Jamari Smith and Quincy Anderson.

The Racers never led after a first half that was changed dramatically by the Bears' 13-2 run over 3:07 which left them trailing 40-25 with 4:53 left. Wood hit back-to-back threes to make it a 10-point game at 54 seconds, but Missouri State had a 46-34 advantage at the halftime intermission.

It was a 7-0 start to the second half for MSU when they got a 3-pointer from Smith, a drive from Wood and pair of free throws by Perry to make it 46-41 at 18:19. However, the Racers went cold and hit only 1-of-9 shots and fell behind by 18 with 13:28 left. The Racers hit six-straight shots and got as close as 11 points with 7:42 remaining.

Game Notes

The Racers split their two-game season series with the Bears after taking the first game in Murray (Jan. 28).
The Racers and bears are 4-4 in their all-time series. The Racers are 1-3 in Springfield.
Both teams had season-highs in made 3-point baskets tonight.
The Racers were 12-of-23 (.522) surpassing the 10 they made in games against Texas A&M (Nov. 17) and UNI (Jan. 10).
MSU's 52 percent from the 3-point line was their second-best clip of the season behind only 8-of-15 (.533) at home vs Belmont (Feb. 1).
With seeding still to be decided for next week's State Farm Arch Madness in St. Louis, the Racers look destined to be seeded anywhere from sixth to eighth.
Sunday's game with Valparaiso is Senior Day as the Racers honor players Rod Thomas and DJ Burns.