Story by Gage Johnson
Senior writer
gjohnson17@murraystate.edu
Murray State men’s basketball followed up its 22-point victory over Middle Tennessee State University with an impressive 28-point win over Southern Illinois University.
Two minutes into the first half, SIU reclaimed a 5-3 lead from Murray State with a layup by junior guard Eric McGill. Following sophomore guard Ja Morant’s second three of the game, the Racers got a 6-5 lead and never looked back.
Murray State would continue on a 17-4 run giving it a 21-9 lead with 10 minutes left to play in the first half. The Racers would continue to dominate on both ends of the floor, holding the Salukis to 19 percent shooting, to take a 49-18 lead into the locker room.
The two teams seemed to flip play styles on the night. The Salukis have shot 40 percent from three this season hitting seven a game, and were held to 1-for-7 at the end of the first half. Murray State is the best three-point defending team in the NCAA, with teams shooting 20 percent from three on average. SIU would also turn the ball over nine times out of its 16 total in the game in the first half of play.
Meanwhile the Racers were 32 percent shooters from three on the season, and shot 8-for-13 from three in the first half alone, powered behind redshirt freshman guard Tevin Brown’s 5-for-7 three-point shooting in the first half.
Murray State would be outscored by three in the second half, but their first half performance would be too much to overcome. The Racers would go on to defeat the Salukis 80-52.
While Morant, Brown and senior guard Shaq Buchanan held things down on the defensive end with eight steals between the three, Morant and Brown would be huge factors on the offensive side.
Morant would notch a double-double with 23 points and 13 assists, while Brown would follow with a career-high 20 points on 6-11 three-point shooting.
The Salukis’ Head Coach Barry Hinson said for as well as Brown shot the ball, much of the credit should be given to Morant’s ability to improve the team as a whole when on the floor.
“Good players are good players,” Hinson said. “Great players make everyone else better. All of those guys are feeding off of him right now. As good as Tevin was, Morant got him the ball on time and on target, and I don’t think you can take that for granted.”
The defense was a big key in the Racers’ victory, holding SIU to 31 percent shooting. Head Coach Matt McMahon thought that the team’s preparation translated to the game and was a huge factor in their success.
“I thought our preparation this week was terrific,” McMahon said. “Our effort at the defensive end of the first floor in the first half really set the tone. That enabled us to get out in transition and allowed Ja to get out in transition and make plays not only for himself, but for his teammates.”
Murray State will return home looking to stretch its win streak to three games against Jackson State University. The Racers will tip-off at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15, at the CFSB Center.