MURRAY, Ky. – Murray State used a 10-0 run late in the game to put away the SIU men’s basketball team 79-66 on Tuesday night at CFSB Center. The back-and-forth game featured eight ties and 17 lead changes.
SIU (2-4), which was a double-digit underdog, came to fight, starting the game on a 6-0 run. The Salukis stayed with the Racers until a six-minute field goal drought in the game’s final eight minutes.
Murray State (3-1) had two runs that went a long way in deciding the outcome. SIU had a one-point lead with three minutes to play in the first half, but Murray closed the half on a 7-0 run — all in the final 1:20 of the half — to take a 34-28 lead into the break. Then, with SIU within four points after an Aaron Cook Jr. layup at the 8:20 mark, the Racers went on a 10-0 run to push the lead to 14.
“We had a bad end to the first half and a bad end to the game. We have to be able to make those runs,” SIU head coach Bryan Mullins said. “But in terms of sharing the ball and playing the right way, I thought we did a much better job tonight than we did against San Francisco. We have to grow and get better as a team. Now with Sekou (Dembele) back and hopefully getting Karrington (Davis) back in the mix, we’re going to continue to get more depth off the bench, as well.”
Murray State featured its depth; of the nine players that played against SIU, eight played less than 24 minutes. Five Racers scored in double-figures, combining for 70 of MSU’s 79 points.
The Salukis battled foul trouble throughout the game, with all of the starters except Eric McGill in foul trouble most of the night. The Racers got 30 of their points from the free-throw line, including a remarkable 26 attempts in the second half. MSU knocked down 22 of those (85%) to avoid an upset-minded group of Salukis.
SIU played well in front of more than 4,500 fans at the CFSB Center in Southern’s first true road game of the season. SIU started the first half on a 6-0 run and the second half on a 7-0 run. Early in the second half, SIU added another 7-0 run in just 21 seconds to take a three-point lead at the 14:35 mark to force a Murray State timeout.
“After San Francisco, we challenged the guys the last couple days,” Mullins said. “They knew they didn’t play the right way against San Francisco and they wanted to come out and battle them. There were those two runs that caused the separation, and we have to do a better job not letting 6-0, 8-0, or 10-0 runs happen throughout the game.”
SIU was led by Cook’s 16 points. He was joined in double-figures by Eric McGill (11) and Ronnie Suggs (10). Harwin Francois hit three 3-pointers to provide a spark off the bench in 15 minutes.
UP NEXT: SIU has a week off before hosting NC Central on Tuesday, November 26, at Banterra Center.
NOTES: Aaron Cook had two steals to tie Desmar Jackson for 10th on SIU’s career steals all-time list … Sekou Dembele, who redshirted last year and battled an injury this year, saw his first action in an SIU uniform and scored three points … Murray State took the lead in the series between the schools, 19-18.
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