Honolulu Heartbreaker – Racers Fall to Charlotte in 2OT

Monday, December 23

Honolulu, Hawaii

11:30 p.m.

Murray State

6-6,1-1MVC

Charlotte

7-5,0-0AAC

OT 1

OT 2

Murray St.

Charlotte

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

Honolulu Heartbreaker – Racers Fall to Charlotte in 2OT

12/23/2024 8:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Racers wrap up their stay at the Diamond Head Classic on Christmas Day with a game against Loyola

The Murray State Racers dropped a hard-fought double overtime decision to the Charlotte 49ers 94-90 in the second day of game at the 15^th annual Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.

The Racers (6-6) have a day off before playing on Christmas Day for just the second time in 100 seasons of program history. MSU meets the Loyola-Chicago (Dec. 25) at 12:30 p.m. Central Time.

Kylen Milton scored 28 points, AJ Ferguson 21 and Terence Harcum 17, but the Racers dropped their first double overtime game since 2014.

Trailing 38-29 at the halftime intermission, the Racers rallied in the second half and had a five-point lead (70-65) with 1:28 remaining. However, UNCC's Giancardo Rosado hit a 3-pointer with less than a second left to force overtime.

In the first extra period, the Racers saw Harcum hit a pair of free throws with 44 seconds remaining to force a second overtime with the score knotted 80-80;

In the second overtime, the Racers never led and saw the 49ers took the lead for good with the first basket.

Game Notes

The Racers played their eighth double overtime game (including one of triple OT) since 1976 and their first since 2014 (03-01-14) when the Racers lost 115-118 at Southeast Missouri.
The game marked the first double overtime game in the 15 years of the Diamond Head Classic.
One of the latest played games for the Racers in recent memory, it ended at 10:54 p.m. Hawaii Time and 2:54 a.m. Central Time.
The official time of the game was 2-hours 51-minutes.
For the first time this season, the Racers made a change in the starting lineup as KyeRon Lindsay made his first start at Murray State and ninth in his collegiate career.
With Ellington coming off the bench, he combined with Lindsay to give the Racers 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Racers meet the Loyola for just the second time and their first since 1964 when they met in Chicago for the Racers' first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Loyola won the game 101-91 at Northwestern's arena.
The only other time the Racers have played on Dec. 25 was in 1997 when MSU Hall of Famer, De'Teri Mayes and teammates, put on quite a show at the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico.
Playing for Coach Mark Gottfried, the Racers took down No. 12 Arkansas 94-83.
With Mayes scoring 42 points with 10 rebounds, teammate Chad Townsend was getting 17 points of his own with six rebounds and eight assists.
ESPN Events announced that beginning in 2025 the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic will join Feast Week, ESPN's week-long college basketball lineup of action in late November.
The eight-team, three-day tournament will move to Thanksgiving week with the exact dates to be determined.