The Murray State Racers used a dominating rebounding performance to power past the Eastern Illinois Panthers 83-72 Thursday at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Illinois.
MSU (9-9) moved to 3-1 as the leader in the Ohio Valley Conference West Division. EIU (9-8) fell to 1-3 in the OVC.
MSU out-rebounded EIU 46-33 and scored 18 second-chance points off 14 offensive rebounds. The effort was MSU’s best this season against an NCAA D-I team.
Terrell Miller recorded his third-straight double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Bryce Jones and Jonathan Stark each tossed in 17 points.
Trailing 33-22 with 7:14 remaining in the first half, the Racers showed some grit and finished the half on a 19-6 run to get the lead 41-39. The run saw a reversal from the previous 12-plus minutes. MSU finished the half 7-of-11 from the field including 2-4 from the 3-point line. EIU was 3-of-15 and 2-of-7.
Damarcus Croaker, who was scoreless in the first half, scored MSU’s first five of the second half, helping MSU to its biggest lead of the day after Miller hit a 3-pointer for a 49-45 lead with 15:26 left.
Brion Sanchious scored and the Racers turned it into a four-point play. Croaker got the rebound off the free throw miss by Sanchious and was fouled. Croaker’s free throws made it a 70-65 MSU lead with 5:56 left.
The Racers hit 10-straight free throws in the final 1:32 to seal their second road win of the season.
Game Notes
With the win, the Racers lead the all-time series with EIU 44-10 and are 17-7 at Lantz Arena.
Miller had his third-straight double-double and fifth of the season. His 14 rebounds is another career-high at MSU for Miller. He had 13 last Saturday at Tennessee Tech.
MSU’s 46-33 rebound win was their best margin against an NCAA D-I team this season. Their previous best was +5 against Alabama A&M (Nov. 29).
Jalen Dupree was highly effective with seven rebounds in only 13 minutes on the floor.
Dupree and Sanchious were a nice addition to what Miller was doing tonight. The pair combined for 13 points and 11 rebounds.
MSU had another good night from the free throw line going 26-of-32 (.813). MSU out-scored EIU from the line 26-6.
MSU’s next stop in the weekend road swing is at SIUE Saturday at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Ill. The tip time is set for 7 p.m.
SIUE hosted Austin Peay tonight and lost in overtime 83-81.
Froggy 103 (WFGS 103.7 FM) airs every MSU game with “Voice of the Racers” Neal Bradley, in his 26th season calling the action. Former MSU assistant coach Kenny Roth provides commentary. Froggy103.com and GoRacers.com has free online streaming audio. Free online streaming video is available at OVCDigitalNetwork.com.
Dave Winder
Murray State Athletics – Assistant AD – Media Relations