Gage Johnson
Editor-in-Chief
Eastern Illinois had Murray State’s number once again, this time beating them with physical play and sharpshooting en route to a 68-59 home loss for the Racers.
The basket seemed like there was a lid on it early for the Racers, as their recent hot shooting didn’t carry over into the first half against the Panthers.
EIU took an early 13-8 lead over Murray State thanks to seven points from senior guard Deang Deang.
The Racers’ deficit grew to 18-12 minutes later, as Murray State had gotten off to a 5-16 from the field and 2-9 from beyond the arc.
Two big scoring droughts held back the Racers from gaining a lead, but they managed to hang around heading into the locker room trailing just 31-29.
The Panthers had gotten out to this lead thanks to a 21-8 advantage on the boards and it had lucked out that the Racers had only converted eight points off 12 EIU turnovers.
Murray State had a perfect opportunity to bounce back and take a lead early in the second half when graduate student forward Sammy Friday IV received a technical foul.
However, sophomore guard Chico Carter Jr. went 1-2 shooting the technical free throws and the Racers failed to score on the ensuing possession, leaving them trailing 38-34 with 17 minutes left to play.
After this miscue on Murray State’s part, EIU continued its efficient shooting and continued to get to the rim time and time again.
“They played with power on the rim,” Carter Jr. said. “They went inside and out, they went through their bigs and then they converted at the free throw line as well.”
The Panthers seemed to be putting some distance between themselves and the Racers with a 7-0 run with just under seven minutes to play, taking a 55-43 lead thanks to 30% Murray State shooting and winning the turnover battle 6-3.
The Racers had cut it to a 59-51 game with 3:20 left to play, but as he has done on multiple occasions over the past few years, senior guard Josiah Wallace sent Murray State packing with a dagger from beyond the arc.
Wallace hit a tough fadeaway three as the shot clock wound down, giving EIU a 62-51with 1:19 left to play. The Racers could never recover, as turnovers and defensive struggles led to a 68-59 loss.
“Yeah, I feel like EIU played a good game from the start to finish,” Carter Jr. said. “We came out kind of slow, but we picked our momentum up and we just fell short at the end.”
It seemed clear that Murray State was a step slow from the very beginning. Head Coach Matt McMahon said he didn’t really understand what the issue was, but said that EIU’s physical play and infectious energy on both ends were what hurt the Racers in the end.
“I really don’t have a great answer,” McMahon said. “I just thought they played with toughness. They were flying around, playing with more energy than we did, which is disappointing to say as a coach. I think that’s an area we’ve made a lot of improvement in this year. We’d been playing with a lot more toughness at both ends of the court in recent weeks, with more urgency and purpose. For whatever reason, we just never got into a rhythm tonight.”
The Panthers were able to keep Murray State from getting out in transition offensively, something that the Racers’ offense prides itself on.
McMahon said the main issue was not being able to get the job done on the defensive end, thus slowing their offense down and keeping them from getting in a rhythm.
“I think the issue there is we weren’t able to get stops,” McMahon said. “I do agree. I thought they were playing in the halfcourt and I’m sure by design trying to score late in the shot clock. And when you’re always taking the ball out of the net because you don’t get stops, it eliminates your opportunities to get out in transition and run.”
The loss moves Murray State to 12-10 with a 9-8 OVC record, taking a step back after a four-game winning streak.
McMahon said the key to not letting this loss affect all the progress they’ve made over the last few weeks is the mental side of things, saying they have to remain tough and prepare to get better before taking on SIUE for the second time in a week.
“I think the mindset is going to be the key there…” McMahon said. “I think it’s a mentality that we get back on the practice court tomorrow, get in the video room and try to get better tomorrow and prepare for Edwardsville on Saturday night.”
Murray State will take on SIUE in its last home game of the season on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m. at the CFSB Center.
