Gage Johnson
Sports Editor
The Murray State men’s basketball team hit the road for a quick mid-season tournament, going 1-2 in the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Murray State vs. La Salle
The Racers opened up action at Hertz Arena on Monday, Nov. 25, falling to La Salle University 75-64 despite a late comeback effort.
It was a back-and-forth affair for much of the first half, until a 9-0 from the Explorers starting at the 9:27 mark opened things up.
From there on, La Salle controlled the game on both sides of the floor, shooting 59.1% from the floor and holding Murray State scoreless for the last 3:30 of the first half. This allowed the Explorers to head to the locker room holding on to a 41-26 lead.
The Racers made a valiant comeback effort in the second half, cutting the lead to as low as nine. However, La Salle’s offensive output from the first half was too much to overcome, giving the Explorers a 75-64 win.
Head Coach Matt McMahon’s defenses have always been successful at denying success from three well outside of a few exceptions, and Murray State’s game against La Salle is one of them.
The Explorers shot 46.4% from beyond the arc on 13-for-28 shooting, while the Racers could only muster 4-for-20 shooting from deep.
Murray State shot well from the field overall (43.3%) but La Salle’s efficiency along with having five scorers in double figures made them difficult for the Racers to overcome.
Murray State vs. Weber State
After a tough loss in their tournament opener, the Racers bounced back, taking Weber State University down to the wire to earn a 69-68 win.
Against the Wildcats, the Racers shot the ball like they were throwing a rock in an ocean. They were extremely efficient inside out, shooting 56% from the field to go with 5-for-10 shooting from three.
Along with a 13 point first-half performance from sophomore forward KJ Williams on 6-for-8 shooting, Murray State took a 36-28 lead into the second half.
Despite the Racers’ offensive showcase in the first half and continued efficient shooting in the second half, Weber State wasn’t going anywhere.
The Wildcats forced nine second-half turnovers—accounting for half of the Racers’ 19 total turnovers—helping Weber State knot things up at 65 with 2:12 to play.
The Racers found themselves trailing 68-65 less than a minute later after an and-one layup from senior guard Jerrick Harding.
Sophomore guard Tevin Brown came to the Racers’ rescue in the closing minutes of the game, sinking a layup to make it a one-point game. Brown was then fouled with 15 seconds left and sank both free throws. A defensive stop with two seconds left then gave Murray State a 69-68 victory over the Wildcats.
Brown finished the night with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Williams led all scorers with 23 points and five rebounds.
Both teams shot the lights out from three, with Murray State shooting 7-for-13 and Weber State shooting 11-for-22, but it was the Racers’ rebounding advantage and ability to create 14 points off of turnovers themselves that helped push them past the Wildcats.
Murray State vs. Drake
The Racers closed out the showcase by playing Drake University for fifth place, with second-half offensive struggles leading to a 63-53 win for the Bulldogs.
Drake controlled the game right away, taking a quick 3-0 lead with a triple from sophomore guard D.J. Wilkins and not losing it until halfway through the first half.
At 11:00 in the first half, Murray State took off on a two-minute long 9-0 run to give the Racers their first lead at 19-18.
The two teams continued to trade buckets to close out the half, with Brown sinking 1-2 free throws to knot things up at 36 going into the locker room.
In the second half, both teams struggled to find the net. Murray State held Drake to 27 points in the half with 33.3% shooting from the field. However, the Racers came out of the locker room shooting 1-for-11 from the field and only scored 17 points total in the half on 17.9% shooting.
Despite their defensive prowess shown in the second half, Murray State’s inability to make shots was ultimately the deciding factor in a 63-53 win for Drake.
“In the second half we defended well enough to win,” McMahon said. “We just couldn’t score. They made some nice adjustments at the half and turned us into a one-on-one team and that’s really not the strength of our team right now.”
Brown was the only Racer who finished in double figures, scoring 15 points on 5-for-15 shooting.
Murray State also struggled to keep possession against the Bulldogs—a recurring theme throughout the showcase— turning the ball over 16 times which led to 20 points off of turnovers for Drake.
“We have to find a way to eliminate some of these unforced [turnovers],” McMahon said. “Driving the ball baseline and stepping the line, [a] casual pass and we had one key possession where we dribbled into traffic and ended up turning it over. [We] have to keep working to get better.”
While McMahon liked his team’s effort throughout the Gulf Coast Showcase, he said that the Racers have a lot of growing to do as the difficult non-conference slate continues.
The Racers will hit the road again for their next game, taking on Missouri State University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3, in Springfield, Missouri.
