Gage Johnson
Editor-in-Chief
Murray State men’s basketball’s road woes continued against Austin Peay, as they fell to the Governors 74-70 in the closing moments of the game.
Murray State jumped out to an early lead and it looked like it might be a repeat of its previous matchup with Austin Peay, forcing the Governors into turnovers and shooting well out of the gate.
The Racers got a quick boost from junior guard Tevin Brown when he went 3-3 to snag seven of their first nine points.
Going 8-9 after an 0-2 start, Murray State continued to build on its lead halfway through the second half. With 9:06 to go, they held a 22-14 lead, converting nine Austin Peay turnovers into 11 points.
Thanks to winning the battle of the paint in the half (22-10), the Racers’ offense was clicking on all cylinders. However, Austin Peay began to piece things together by forcing Murray State turnovers as the first half came to a close.
Senior guard Terry Taylor and freshman Tai’Reon Joseph took advantage of the Racers’ turnovers, combining for 18 points as the Governors headed into the locker room trailing 39-33.
The second half was an all-out bloodbath, with both teams fighting until the final buzzer in Clarksville, Tennessee.
Murray State seemed to be creating distance from Austin Peay halfway through the second half, holding them scoreless for three minutes and going on an 8-0 run to take a 55-45 lead. But Taylor and the Governors had other things in mind.
Taylor put on an offensive clinic after being held to eight points in the first half, going for 22 points on 8-14 shooting from the field and 6-7 from the charity stripe.
“I think it’s the case with all players, that when they see the ball go in the basket, they start to get into a rhythm,” said Head Coach Matt McMahon. “We held them to the two points and then he hit the back-to-back threes and you saw him take some confidence out of that. He’s the best player in the league for a reason… We just had no answer for him tonight and he just took over the game in the second half.”
Arguably Taylor’s biggest shot came with seven minutes left to play, as his layup gave Austin Peay its first lead since 5-4 at 61-60.
The co-OVC preseason favorites continued to trade buckets down the stretch, but the Governors clearly commanded momentum in the final four minutes of play.
The Racers cut Austin Peay’s lead to one on multiple occasions, but couldn’t get over the hump. Their final opportunity came after two missed free throws by the Governors, as they trailed Austin Peay 73-70 with 22 seconds on the clock.
Murray State went for the tie, quickly firing up a three after one screen on the wing for Brown, whose shot fell short, allowing the Governors to eventually walk away with the 74-70 victory.
Turnovers and offensive rebounding proved to be the Racers’ achilles heel in their second matchup with Austin Peay. The Governors forced 18 turnovers and converted that into 22 points.
While Murray State shot 60% from the field, the turnover deficit was too much for the Racers to overcome.
“When we didn’t turn the ball over we were really effective from two,” McMahon. “25-30, 83% and when we ran offense we were able to get to the basket and finish plays, but we just couldn’t execute from beyond the three-point line… I thought their pressure really bothered our perimeter players and limited our post touches for sure.”
Austin Peay also held a 15-4 offensive rebounding advantage that led to 11 second chance points. McMahon said offensive rebounding comes down to who wants it more and tonight that was the Governors.
“They’re top-20 in the country in offensive rebounding,” McMahon said. “The thing about offensive rebounding, it’s one of my favorite stats, [is that] you can teach all the neat techniques and all that, but it comes down to desire, heart, competitiveness and toughness. And I thought they really imposed their will on us in the second half on the glass and outcompeted us.”
The Racers also struggled to find the bottom of the net from deep in the second half, going 0-8 to finish 3-17 in the game.
While Murray State might’ve finished shooting 60% from the floor, the turnovers and second chance points came back to bite them. McMahon said before going to Belmont they have to continue to get better in all facets of the game in order to grab their first road win of the season.
“We gotta get a lot better,” McMahon said. “I gotta do a better job coaching our team. We’re just an average team right now. That’s not acceptable. It’s not the standard we’re trying to build here and so I gotta reevaluate how we’re doing some things and find a way to get us better.”
The loss moves the Racers to 4-3 overall with a 1-1 OVC record going into their second conference road game of the season.
The Racers will take on the reigning OVC Champion Bruins on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 8 p.m. in Nashville, Tennessee, in pursuit of their first road win of the season.
