Murray State Beats EIU, SIUE Falls in OT

Murray State held Eastern Illinois without a field goal for nearly six minutes late in the game as the Racers beat the Panthers, 83-72, on Thursday night in Lantz Arena.
 
Murray State improved to 9-9 overall, 3-1 in the OVC.  EIU dropped to 9-8 overall, 1-3 in the OVC.  EIU will host Austin Peay on American Sports Network at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning.
 
Casey Teson drained a 3-pointer with 7:19 to play in the game that gave EIU a 65-64 lead.  The Panthers next field goal would come with 1:20 remaining on a follow-up dunk by Muusa Dama as the junior forward had 12 of his 15 points in the second half.
 
In between the two EIU field goals, Murray State scored ten straight points as their 10-1 run gave the Racers a 74-66 lead on a free throw by Jonathan Stark with 1:32 to play.  Stark and Terrell Miller both had 3-pointers for Murray State during the run.  Miller finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds.  Stark was one of two Racers with 17 points.    
 
Bryce Jones also chipped in 17 points going 9-of-9 at the foul line as Murray State was 19-fo-24 from the stripe in the second half.  The Racers scored their final seven points of the game from the foul line as EIU was unable to get closer than six points in the final minute.
 
Ray Crossland had two baskets in the final minute to account for EIU’s final two field goals.  Crossland scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half.
 
EIU jumped out to an early lead behind the hot shooting of Montell Goodwin who finished with 14 points, all in the first 11 minutes of the game as the Panthers built a 27-18 lead on Goodwin’s final bucket with 9:06 to play in the first.
 
MSU slowly cut into the EIU tying the game on a Stark 3-pointer with 3:19 to play in the first half and taking a three point lead on a lay-up by Brion Sanchious.  Murray State lead 41-39 at the half.
 
Murray State finished with a 46-33 rebound advantage which the Racers converted into 18 second chance points.  Dama had nine rebounds to lead EIU while Crossland pulled down eight.
 

Austin Peay 83, SIUE 81 (OT)

A furious second-half rally wasn't quite enough to propel the SIUE men's basketball team to a league win Thursday.

Austin Peay held off the Cougars 83-81 in overtime before 1,057 fans at the Vadalabene Center in an Ohio Valley Conference thriller. SIUE dropped to 5-13 overall and 0-4 in the OVC. Austin Peay improved to 5-13 and 1-3.

"We had tremendous energy in the second half, and our response to a slow start was probably the best thing about the way we played," SIUE Head coach Jon Harris said.

The Cougars, who trailed 33-16 with four minutes remaining in the first half, 35-25 at half and 68-56 with less than three minutes in the game, used a ferocious comeback to knot things at 70-all.

SIUE embarked on a 9-0 run to start it, then tied things on Keenan Simmons' basket with six seconds to play. Austin Peay, however, recovered and outscored the Cougars 13-11 in the overtime.

"We did a tremendous job of battling back when we had some adversity, and we really rallied around each other," Harris said. "We just came up a little short."

Simmons, Burak Eslik, Tre Harris and Josh White sparked the comeback. Simmons, a 6-foot, 6-inch junior, scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half and overtime. He also finished with 12 rebounds.

"Keenan has had a good year, and he's capable of doing a lot of things," Coach Harris said. "He played with a lot of energy and effort tonight."

Simmons said, "I thought I had a pretty good game. And the team did a better job in the second. We just have to keep working hard and compete the whole game."

Eslik poured in a team-best 20 points, including 14 in the second half and overtime. Harris' registered 13 points after halftime, and White pitched in 10 points.

Austin Peay's Josh Robinson connected for 26 points and teammate John Murry added 23 points. Robinson supplied some key baskets for the Governors in crucial situations.

"The kids is very talented, and he hit some tough shots," Coach Harris said.