Lockdown Second Half Pushes Racers Past SEMO

Sunday, December 8

Murray, Ky.

3 p.m.

Murray State

6-2,1-0MVC

Southeast Missouri

3-6,0-0OVC

Southeast Mo. St.

Murray St.

Photo by: Stephen Furst

12/8/2024 8:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Murray State Racers won for the fifth time in their last six games and moved to 4-1 at The Bank

The Murray State Racers held the Southeast Missouri Redhawks to 20 second half points to win going away 73-53 at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.

The Racers (6-2) have won three in a row and five-of-six as they head into final exams week as the fall semester ends at Murray State University. MSU returns to action Saturday against old rival Western Kentucky in a 1 p.m. tipoff at Diddle Arena in Bowling Green.

JaCobi Wood scored 20 of his game-high 23 points to lead the MSU attack that outscored SEMO 40-20 in the second half. Nick Ellington added 15 points on 6-of-8 from the field and tied his career-high with three steals, while Terence Harcum scored 12 points.

Coming out of the halftime break with the game tied 33-33, the Racers managed to wrestle the lead away from the Redhawks and connect the dots for maybe their best segment of basketball this season. Starting with defensive stops in four-straight SEMO possessions, the Racers sprinted the floor and finished corresponding fast breaks for a 54-39 advantage with 11:34 remaining. The game-changing 15-0 run included a pair of threes from Harcum, plus layups from Kylen Milton and AJ Ferguson.

The Racers pushed their lead to 21 points at 3:33 as they shot 63 percent in the second half on 15-of-24.

Game Notes

The Racers have won their last three games and five of their last six since a loss at Pittsburgh (Nov. 8).
MSU held SEMO to 27 percent shooting in the second half on 7-of-26.
In the same second half, the Racers shot 15-of-24 for 63 percent for their best second half of the season, ahead of the 59 percent they posted at Middle Tennessee (16-of-27).
Holding SEMO to 20 points in the second half marked the lowest for a Racer NCAA D-I opponent since they outscored Kennesaw State 29-18 at the CFSB Center on their way to a 74-38 win (12-16-19).
Nick Ellington posted a career-high three steals for the fifth time in his career.
The Racers were close to having a pair of double-doubles when Wood was one rebound from it and Ellington two rebounds.
MSU's last instance of two players with a double-double was in 2022 when KJ Williams had 20P/13R & Justice Hill had 20P/10A at Tennessee Tech (01-27-22).
With 12 points today, Terence Harcum has 904 points and is closing on the career 1000-Point mark between the Racers and Appalachian State in 92 games.
The Racers' 14 offensive rebounds was one of their season high of 15 against MES (11-20-24).

Visit GoRacers.com for information in tickets, or call the CFSB Center ticket hotline at 270-809-3000.

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