Gage Johnson
Editor-in-Chief
Murray State may have come away with a dominant 20-plus victory over SIUE in its final home game of the season, but they also suffered what could be a tremendous loss.
The Racers were up a commanding 46-21 over the Cougars, getting ready to head into the locker room with 44 seconds left in the first half, but before they could prepare for the second half of play, an attempt at a rebound changed the atmosphere of the game instantly.
With 28 seconds left in the first half, sophomore forward Demond Robinson went up for a rebound and the back of his left leg made contact with another player. The result was what looked like a gruesome injury that could be a serious setback for Robinson and the Racers heading into the last week of the regular season.
However, Robinson kept his composure and came to talk to his team and told them to keep fighting and secure the win in the second half.
“We talked to the doctor and he said nothing really looked too bad and Demond came in there at the end and told us he was good and told us to just go out there and keep playing our game,” said sophomore guard Justice Hill. “So we just tried to keep our hopes up and go out there and keep playing our game.”
Murray State was able to do just that, carrying its offensive efficiency into the second half over the Cougars. Add that on top of an impressive display defensively in the first half, holding SIUE to 34% shooting, and the Racers were able to walk away with an 89-62 victory.
Head Coach Matt McMahon said Robinson’s leadership showed at halftime and that moment in the locker room was crucial to their success.
“I thought it was important,” McMahon said. “We faced a similar situation at Southern Illinois earlier this year and it was really difficult. I thought him coming in [was important]. There was about seven minutes left on the halftime clock and he came in and said a couple of nice things to the players.”
On a night when the Racers shot 58% from the field to go along with 50% shooting from beyond the arc, they got contributions from a number of players.
Hill, senior forward Devin Gilmore, sophomore guard Chico Carter Jr. and junior guard Tevin Brown—who finished with 29 points on 9-12 shooting while going 7-9 from three—all finished in double figures for Murray State. This was a key factor in them bouncing back from a rough loss to EIU.
“I feel like Thursday night we came in just trying not to mess up instead of going out there and just doing what we know how to do and playing our game,” Hill said. “I feel like everybody was in their flow tonight and we were all sharing the ball and playing as a team.”
Brown agreed with Hill and said they were able to play their game by speeding up the pace of play, unlike their matchup with EIU in which they slowed things down on both sides of the floor to control the game.
The energy and precision the Racers played with was lacking against EIU, but McMahon said it was evident that wasn’t the case against the Cougars.
“There’s a great Brad Stevens quote we talk about all the time,” McMahon said. “[It’s] ‘when you realize the consequences of not doing the little things, you realize there are no little things.’ I thought our guys’ attention to detail was really good. We did better screening, did a better job of moving the basketball and we got a better result from it.”
While the win is huge for the Racers, a looming cloud remains over the victory and that is the status of Robinson moving forward.
“I do not have an update on Demond,” McMahon said. “He’ll be reevaluated in the morning. Obviously hate to see a player go down like that. It’s the worst part of coaching, but we’ll remain optimistic and see how he is tomorrow when he gets reevaluated.”
Robinson has been a starter all season long and plays a huge role defensively for Murray State. Given the rapid progression he’s had over the course of the season, McMahon is hoping for the big man to be able to play again soon.
“Hopefully he’s going to be ok,” McMahon said. “I’ve been really proud of Demond this last month. He’s really grown. He’s shown leadership skills, he’s been terrific at the defensive end of the floor and just keeps getting better and better. So hopefully we’ll get some good news on him moving forward.”
Murray State heads into its last week of the season with a two-game road stint. The first of two will be against Jacksonville State at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25, in Jacksonville, Alabama.
