FRIDAY'S SCORES
Murray State 74, @Memphis 72
@Tennessee State 70, IUPUI 44
MURRAY STATE 74, MEMPHIS 72
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Tevin Brown scored 22 points and Justice Hill added 20 as Murray State overcame a 40-26 halftime deficit to top Memphis 74-72.
The win came nearly 10 years to the day when the 2011-12 Racers knocked off a nationally-ranked Memphis squad on its way to a 31-2 season and Top 10 national ranking.
Murary State (8-1) also got 13 points and eight rebounds from KJ Williams while Carter Collins added 13 points. Overall the Racers hit 14-of-29 3-pointers while limiting Memphis (5-4) to just eight triples.
Having gone the final 4:28 of the first half without a field goal, MSU got off to a hot start to the second half. They outscored Memphis 30-14 and when they got 3-point baskets from Hill and Brown to retake the lead with 8:52 remaining, the Racers were in front 56-54 and never trailed again.
When Memphis cut the Racer lead to one point with 2:55 left, MSU held them off with some heroic baskets. Hill made his fifth 3-pointer for a 69-65 lead at 2:17 remaining. After a Racer miss, Memphis cut the MSU lead to 69-67 with a rebound and score with 59.4 left. The Racers handled the Tigers’ full court press and ran the clock down to 31.7 seconds when Hill was fouled on a 3-point attempt. Hill set a new career-high when he made all three free throws to put the Racers in front 72-67. It was a runout dunk by Williams that sealed it for Murray State with 11.3 seconds left.
The Racers shot 47 percent (27-of-58) for the game, but were great in the second half in shooting 53 percent (16-of-30). After going 4-of-14 from the 3-point line in the first half, they came back in the second half and hit 10-of-15 for 68 percent. MSU won the battle of the boards 31-30 as Williams and DJ Burns each hauled in eight rebounds.
TENNESSEE STATE 70, IUPUI 44
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State men's basketball team secured their second victory at home, defeating IUPUI, 70-44.
Kassim Nicholson kick-started the offense for TSU with a driving layup. The Tigers secured the initial lead and extended their advantage to 13-4, as Christian Brown generated six of the opening 13 points. Tennessee State held an 18-point lead, 33-15, towards the end of the stanza.
To begin the second half, the Tigers went on a 21-6 scoring stretch as five separate players contributed to the run. After TSU enlarged the lead to 58-30, the Jaguars went on a 10-point unanswered streak to trim the deficit.
Dedric Boyd led TSU in points (20) for the third time this season, as he shot 8-of-10 from the field.
Six players totaled at least seven points for Tennessee State, while three Tigers logged double-digit scoring. TSU dominated the game the long-range jumpers as the Tigers shot 42% from deep compared to IUPUI's 18% from three-point range.