Jakob Milani
Sports Editor
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Murray State men’s basketball officially ranked in the Associated Press College Basketball Top 25 poll after defeating the SIUE Cougars by a score of 79-59 on Saturday, Feb. 5.

The Racers ranked as the 23rd best team in the country following the win, being ranked higher than schools like University of Connecticut and Xavier University.

Head Coach Matt McMahon spoke about the team being ranked in the country. He said he wants the team to enjoy the journey they are on but stay focused on the next game.

“I think you can have this balance,” McMahon said. “You can enjoy the journey and have fun, but balance that with the hard work and discipline it takes to be a good team. It’s great to be ranked, especially for our program. But not something I sit around worrying about.”

The Racers were the first to strike in the game with a second chance layup from senior guard Carter Collins. Freshman forward Deejuan Pruitt tied the game at four with a layup just a minute later. 

Murray State took over after that with an 8-0 run that saw two layups from junior forward KJ Williams and an and-one from sophomore guard Justice Hill. Freshman forward Lamar Wright ended the run with a three-pointer, but junior forward Tevin Brown answered with a three-pointer to make it 15-7 Racers.

Following a pair of threes from Brown and Collins to make it 21-9, the Racers went on a bit of a slide. Sophomore guard Shamar Wright scored six straight points for the Cougars, and freshman guard Jonathan Kurtas added a layup to bring the Cougars within four points.

The Racers were able to get going with a layup from sophomore forward DJ Burns that set off an 8-0 run for the Racers. From there, Murray State didn’t look back. Brown made another three-pointer, and sophomore guard Daquan Smith made seven straight points to end the half. At halftime, the Racers were up 44-24.

Brown led the Racers at halftime with 10 points and four rebounds. Williams followed close behind with eight points and seven rebounds. Smith scored seven points in the first half, while Hill scored six points, grabbed three rebounds and had three assists.

Shamar Wright led the Cougars at halftime with nine points on 3-5 shooting from the field. Lamar Wright had five points on 2-4 shooting from the field. Pruitt had four points and three rebounds.

In the first half, the Racers forced nine turnovers while only turning the ball over three times. The Racers also outrebounded the Cougars in the first half 18-13.

The second half started with a 9-0 run from the Racers, with all nine points coming from Hill. He started the run with a jump-shot in the paint and ended it with a three-pointer from the right wing, putting the Racers up 53-26.

Hill spoke postgame about the run he had to start the second half. He said if the opportunity is there, you just have to take advantage.

“I’m just trying to bring energy to the team,” Hill said. “Just trying to be a point guard and get others involved. But when the opportunity presents itself for me to score, I just try to take advantage of that.”

Murray State’s lead jumped up to 28 with a layup from Burns, but the Cougars kept fighting back with a layup from freshman guard Desmond Polk and a dunk from graduate guard Shaun Doss Jr. A bucket from Hill kept the Racers up though with a score of 63-35 with 13:14 left in the game.

The Cougars kept fighting to make it a respectable game, with layups from Kurtas and Doss Jr. taking the lead down to 21. Free throws from the Racers kept them up though, and a dunk from Williams gave them a 71-45.

As time began to wind down, the Racers held strong and kept their lead over 20. Back-to-back layups from freshman forward Nicholas McMullen cut the Cougars final run short as the clock wound down. When the clock hit zero, the Racers were the one on top, defeating the Cougars by a score of 79-59.

Brown and Hill each finished with 18 points. Brown grabbed seven rebounds and Hill had seven assists. Williams finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the game. Burns had 11 points and five rebounds.

Doss Jr. led the Cougars with 18 points and four rebounds. Pruitt and Shamar Wright each had nine points and four rebounds. Kurtas had eight points and seven rebounds.

Smith spoke about the team’s performance in the game. He said it’s some of the best basketball the Racers have played all season.

“I think it was a great team win,” Smith said. “I think we came out better than we have in previous games and we gotta start doing that moving forward.” 

McMahon spoke on his mentality about winning and how it’s gotten the team to where it is now. He said it’s something you have to enjoy but not something you can sit and think on for too long.

“I hear coaches talk about how they hate losing more than they enjoy winning,” McMahon said. “I think that’s nuts … You gotta celebrate winning and enjoy it. To our players’ credit, I think they can do that, but also keep working hard to get better … I have been proud of our players and their focus and commitment to practice. I’m blessed to have an unselfish team.”

The win marks Murray State’s 300th win in the CFSB Center over its 24 years of use. The win also moves the Racers to 22-2 overall and 12-0 in the OVC. The Racers will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, to take on Tennessee State on Thursday, Feb. 10. Tipoff is set for 7:30.