Murray State men’s basketball had the lead at two different points in the game, but couldn’t see the game through against the toughest opponent on their schedule, by KenPom rankings, the Pitt Panthers on Nov. 8.
The Panther lead was as high as 12 at the 11:20 mark in the first half before the Racers offense started to settle in. KyeRon Lindsay’s eight points and AJ Ferguson’s five points courtesy of a go-ahead-and-1 three point shot led a Murray State charge over the next nine minutes. The lead wouldn’t last long for the Racers as Pitt’s Jaland Lowe would score a layup and a go-ahead three-pointer with four seconds left in the half saw the Panthers go into halftime with a two point lead, 41-39.
The second half provided a scare for Murray State fans. Twenty seconds into the half, starting center Nick Ellington went down clutching his ankle after getting tangled up with a Pitt player. He would check out and not return to the game. Head coach Steve Prohm announced at the post-game press conference that the x-ray came back negative for a break but that it was a “really, really bad sprain.”
“[We’ll] get him rehab over the next couple of days,” Prohm said. “Hopefully we can have him back by mid-week as we get ready for Middle [Tennessee].”
Despite losing their man in the middle, the Racers had a full half of basketball left to play and had to refocus. The rest of the half consisted of the teams going blow for blow with each other. Neither team could jump out to a lead greater than six until the 8:51 mark. A pair of free throws by Guillermo Graham Diaz gave Pitt the lead again, and they never looked back.
Murray State would score a basket courtesy of a Lindsay layup with just under eight minutes left in the game, but that would be the last field goal they made. Pitt would finish the game on a 17-3 run to close the door on the Racers and win the game 83-68.
Murray State was led by Terence Harcum, who scored 15 points on 42% shooting from the field and nine of his fifteen coming from the 3-point line. Kylen Milton and Alden Applewhite both scored 11 points, with most of their points coming from the free throw line. Milton also added five rebounds and four assists to his stat line. Lindsay and JaCobi Wood each finished with 10 points.
The Racers had 26 team fouls while Pitt only had 17. Wood mentioned in the post-game press conference that you won’t always get calls or avoid them when on the road, especially at a power 5 school.
“You know it’s an away game,” Wood said. “Calls may not go your way sometimes, but you just gotta stay composed [and] stay together. That’s the main thing, us staying together and focusing on the next play.”
Prohm was adamant that this year’s team wants to win, and felt like they could win the game against Pitt. He said the team has a tough non-conference schedule and everyone is going to have to take some hits.
“These guys have gotta take the hits,” Prohm said. “The coaches have gotta take the hits and we gotta hit back. The biggest thing I takeaway is, I like this basketball team. We just gotta clean some things up.”
The men’s basketball team will get a chance to get back in the win column on Saturday, Nov. 16. The Racers will travel to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to play the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
