Racers Can’t Hold Off SIU’s Second Half Comeback

Saturday, January 27

CFSB Center

1 p.m.

Murray State

8-13,5-5MVC

Southern Illinois

14-7,6-4MVC

Southern Ill.

Murray St.

Photo by: David Eaton-Murray State Athletics

1/27/2024 4:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Murray State Racers saw a 20-point lead evaporate in the final 13 minutes at the CFSB Center

The Murray State Racers dropped a 60-58 loss Saturday to the Southern Illinois Salukis at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.

The Racers (8-13) are now 5-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference as they host the Illinois State Tuesday in a 7 p.m. tip.

Leading by 20 points with 13:00 remaining, the Racers led the entire game until SIU's Xavier Johnson scored with 2.9 left for the Salukis' first lead.

Rob Perry, JaCobi Wood and Brian Moore, Jr., led the Racers each with 14 points.

After shooting nearly 60 percent (15-of-26) in the first half, the Racers' second half shooting rate fell to 35 percent (7-of-20).

With the game tied early at 5-5, Perry stepped into a trio of 3-pointers, each in fast break transitions for the Racers to give the home team their largest lead of the day of 14 points (27-13) at the 9:24. Perry hit all five of his shot attempts in the half. The Racers soon pushed their lead to 17-point on a 3-pointer from Alden Applewhite to make it a 34-17 lead. SIU trimmed the lead to 38-30 at the halftime intermission.

In the second half, the Racers took their largest lead of the game when Perry made a steal and fed Moore for a layup to make the score 55-35 at 14:10. As the Salukis chipped away at the MSU lead, the Racers went into a funk and hit just 1-of-13 shots the rest of the way.

Game Notes
On MSU Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day, the largest crowd of the season in the CFSB Center was 6,757.
The Racers had 10 fast break points in the first half and 14 for the game.
MSU's 20 bench points were provided by Moore's 14 and three points each from Sam Murray and Alden Applewhite.
Rob Perry had a perfect shooting first half in 5-of-5 from the field (3-of-3 3PT) for a game-high 14 points.
The Racers host the Illinois State Redbirds Tuesday in the second game of their season series.
The Racers fell 76-72 even with Quincy Anderson's 27 points, his career-high at MSU.

Follow the Racers on Twitter (@MSURacers), Instagram (@RacersAthletics) and Facebook to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Murray State Athletics. Follow Murray State men's basketball on Twitter and Instagram (@RacersHoops).

It's time to think about purchasing tickets to 2024 State Farm Arch Madness (March 7-10) in St. Louis, Missouri. The Enterprise Center is set to host the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament which will be staged in the Gateway City for a 34th consecutive time. Tickets can be purchased through the Murray State ticket office at the CFSB Center, by calling (270) 809-3000 or online through GoRacers.com and TicketMaster.com.