Murray State Racers beat Memphis Tigers 76-72 - NCAA Basketball Recap
Murray State Racers are yet to be beaten in the tournament, and just few hours ago, they extended their unbeaten record to 10-0 by overpowering Memphis Tigers 76-72.
Tigers have now lost three games and dropped to 5-3.
Racers were in the driving seat for most of the time. Tigers put up a good fight late in the second half and gave Racers a scare by coming as close as 73-72 with less than 15 minutes seconds remaining, however the Racers held their
nerves and by scoring two free throws, completed a well deserved win.
On the night, their senior guard Donte Poole was special.
Poole (20) was superb and recorded his career high 6 three-pointers tonight. And all those 6 were timely. Every time Tigers would get close to Racers, Poole would drill a three to ensure his team stayed significantly ahead.
Isaiah Canaan was also impressive and scored 15, pulled down 4 rebounds and dished out 7 assists while Ed Daniel contributed 13 points and forced 9 rebounds. Ivan Aska also chipped in with his 12.
Although, Racers won the game, but the most outstanding performance came from a Tiger - Will Barton.
Barton pounded game high 27 points including 5 for 6 from the free throw line and 10 for 13 from inside the arc. Joe Jackson supported him well and finished with 20.
The Racers started with an 11-2 burst, led by Isaiah, Poole and Ed, however Tigers quickly responded and bolted back with a 10-3 run to make it 14-12 in the first 8 minutes of the game. A good battle was fought in next two minutes
as both teams were neck to neck with Racers only ahead by 1 point 17-16; however what followed next was a magnificent 12-0 spurt by Racers that again propelled them into a commanding position 29-16.
Fortunately for Tigers, their players were up to the task and reeled off a critical 13-5 run in the ending minutes of frame to keep the team in the hunt.
Barton and Joe displayed excellent skills in the opening minutes of next frame and got Tigers ahead by 47-46, however the lead was only short lived as in next few minutes, Racers again initiated a 14-3 run to get back in the driving
seat, at 60-50.
That 14-3 run proved decisive in the end as Tigers until the end, never managed to catch up with the deficit and despite a fierce attack in the last few minutes, failed to finish on top.
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