WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Murray State 66, @Missouri State 63 (CIT)
@Illinois State 77,
Morehead State 67 (CBI)
MURRAY STATE 66, MISSOURI STATE 63
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Murray State Racers came away with a 66-63 win Wednesday over the Missouri State Bears in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament at JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo.
Tyler Rambo made a steal and scored his only basket of the game with 1:13 remaining to cut the Bears lead to 63-62. With 42 seconds left, the Racers forced a miss which led to a Cameron Payne floater in the paint to put MSU in front 64-63 with 19.6 seconds left.
After Missouri State called a timeout, the Racers held again with Payne grabbing the rebound and getting fouled. MSU’s Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year went to the free throw line with 7.1 left and made a pair to put MSU in front by three points. In the remaining seconds, the Racers defense didn’t allow the Bears to get a shot off as they covered a loose ball when time expired.
Jarvis Williams led the Racers (19-11) with his 14th double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Payne tossed in 19 points. Jeffery Moss added 10 points and eight rebounds.
In the first half, the Racers broke from the gate in a great way when they hit 5-of-10 shots to lead 16-3 only six minutes into the contest. The Racers kept the Bears without a field goal until Jarmar Gulley scored at the 15:35 mark. At the start, the Racers held the Bears to 1-of-10 from the field.
MSU led 18-9 at the 11:41 mark when Williams scooped up a loose ball and scored.
The Bears jumped in front by four when Nathan Scheer hit a 3-pointer, but Moss hit from long range seven seconds later to end the half with MSU trailing the Bears 37-36.
Missouri State opened the second half on a 7-0 run to lead the Racers 44-36 with 18:37 remaining.
Jonathan Fairell scored two straight baskets and the Racers had the game knotted 52-52 with 11:00 left.
The Racers move to the round of the 16 in CIT where their next assignment is not yet been determined.
ILLINOIS STATE 77, MOREHEAD STATE 67
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State men's basketball team used a 16-2 run midway through the first half and never trailed again in a 77-67 win over Morehead State on Wednesday night at Redbird Arena. The contest marked the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational.
The Redbirds, who finished 9-9 in Missouri Valley Conference action, improve to 17-15 overall and 13-3 at home. The Eagles, who finished 10-6 in Ohio Valley Conference play, end their season 20-14 overall and 9-7 on the road. ISU also improves to 6-1 all-time against MSU.
Illinois State is making its fifth postseason appearance in the last seven years and 19th overall. The Redbirds are playing in their first CBI. Morehead State enjoyed its fourth postseason berth in the past six seasons and ninth overall. The Eagles played in their second CBI.
Illinois State tallied a 16-point advantage from the foul line on the way to its 12th home win in 13 tries. The Redbirds canned 73 percent (29-of-40), while the Eagles converted on just 62 percent (13-of-21).
Junior Daishon Knight paced four ISU players in double figures with 18 points. Junior Bobby Hunter added 16, while sophomore Nick Zeisloft chipped in with 13 and freshman Reggie Lynch had 12.
Junior Kareem Storey led three MSU individuals in double figures with 19 points, all of which came in the second half. Junior Angelo Warner posted 14, while sophomore Brent Arrington contributed 13.
Morehead State registered a 40-37 rebounding advantage, including 15-12 on the offensive end. The Eagles, who begin the day sixth nationally in rebounding margin and tied for 27th in total boards, close out the campaign being outrebounded just twice in 34 contests.
Junior Billy Reader pulled down a game-high nine rebounds in just 17 minutes for the Eagles, while Storey added a game-best five assists and drained all three attempts from three-point land. Warner recorded six rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocked shots.
Drew Kelly and Chad Posthumus were playing in their final collegiate games. Kelly wraps up his MSU career with 1,013 points (8.2 pg) and 522 rebounds (4.2 pg) in 123 contests, while Posthumus finishes with 574 points (8.6 pg) and 595 rebounds (8.9 pg) in 67 tilts.