Racers cruise past Cougars in final home game
MURRAY, Ky. — Less than 48 hours removed from a difficult loss to a finally-healthy Eastern Illinois squad, Murray State bounced back in its final home game of a strange 2020-21 college basketball season with an emphatic 89-62 win over SIU Edwardsville.
Everything that went wrong against the Panthers — being outrebounded 21-5 in the first 15 minutes, shooting 4-for-21 from the arc, scoring just 15 points on 18 forced turnovers and allowing 57% shooting from the floor — flipped against the Cougars (8-14, 6-10 OVC).
The Racers (13-10, 10-8) won the rebounding battle 30-26 (and 23-17 defensively) and got a game-high from lone senior in forward Devin Gilmore, who had seven boards and 12 points on perfect shooting (4-for-4 FG, 4-for-4 FT) in what may (or may not?) have been his final game at the CFSB Center.
Junior guard Tevin Brown continued his mostly-torrid shooting month by going for 29 points in 27 minutes on 9-for-12 from the floor, 7-for-9 from the arc and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. As a team, the Racers went 13-for-26 from deep, with sophomore Chico Carter Jr. (11 points, three assists, no turnovers) and sophomore Justice “Juice” Hill (14 points, four assists, 6-for-8 shooting) each canning two 3-pointers.
On 17 SIUE turnovers, the Racers scored 26 points, as nine steals helped create a 16-6 edge in fastbreak points.
And the Cougars finished shooting just 38.8% from the floor (19-for-49) and 28.6% from the arc (6-for-21), with Iziah James (10 points), Shamar Wright (10 points) and Courtney Carter (10 points) the only players in double figures.
“The pace of our game,” Brown said, discussing the difference 48 hours can make. “I feel like Thursday we were playing really slow and stagnant. Letting our opponent control what we were doing offensively. Tonight, we got out and ran and played our game.”
Indeed, the Racers scored 29 points in the first half against the Panthers on Thursday night — mostly buoyed by a late 9-2 run that was capped by a triple from junior forward KJ Williams at the buzzer.
On Saturday, the Racers had 29 points in the first eight minutes and led 46-21 at the break, as Brown canned his first four 3-point attempts in the game.
Robinson injured
MSU sophomore forward Demond Robinson (four points, four rebounds, two assists, one block) had a strong first half for the Racers, but may have sustained a significant knee injury. With less than a minute to go before the break, Hill went up high for a defensive stop, and momentum from a mild mid-air collision forced him into the side of Robinson’s left leg — as he was preparing for a backside rebound.
The 6-8 defensive stopper with a 7-5 wingspan couldn’t protect himself from the incidental contact, and buckled underneath the basket in considerable, writhing pain.
Robinson was able to calm the team with some words at halftime, but he wasn’t putting much pressure on the leg after the game.
“I thought it was important,” McMahon noted of Robinson’s words. “We faced a similar situation at Southern Illinois this year, and it was really difficult. …There’s about seven minutes left on the halftime clock, and he came in and said a couple nice things to the players. And hopefully he’s going to be okay. I’ve been really proud of him this last month. He’s really grown. Shown leadership skills. Been terrific at the defensive end of the floor, and he just keeps getting better and better. So hopefully we’ll get some good news on him moving forward.”
McMahon noted he’ll be re-evaluated this morning before a health assessment is made. On the year, he was shooting 63.4% from the floor, 73.4% from the stripe and averaging 7.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 blocks in 24.8 minutes per game.
Hill’s emergence
Hill put together one of his more complete games as a Racer on Saturday, scoring in double digits for the first time since he scored 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting in a road loss at Austin Peay on Dec. 21, 2020.
He’s been “relegated” to a bench role in these last 13 games after starting in the first 10 games this year, but it’s a place he’s not just embracing — but thriving. He’s played no less than 11 minutes in any game since Jan. 16, and in the span the Racers have gone 9-4 with Hill shooting 27-for-66 from the floor (40.9%), 11-for-34 from the arc (32.4%) and dishing 43 assists to just 18 turnovers (2.4-to-1).
“Every day, I’m just trying to learn something new,” Hill said. “Of course, college basketball is very different…but I feel like, overall, I’ve become a better point guard since I’ve been here with the coaching staff. I’m starting to see things easier, knowing people’s tendencies and what your teammates like, where they like it and stuff like that.”
His role now?
“I would just say come in and bring energy of the bench,” he added. “Push the pace of the game. Be a point guard. Find my teammates. Get others involved. And when the opportunity presents itself to score, convert.”
He’s a really talented player, and he’s playing really well for us and doing such a great job running the team.
Matt McMahon, MSU men’s basketball coach
Brown ballistics
Since the start of February, Brown has been nearly untouchable from the arc — going 31-for-65 from there over the last eight games (47.7%).
It’s the kind of hot shooting that’s lifted his season average more than six points in four weeks, where he’s up to 37% from deep on the year after such a stifling start.
“My teammates are doing a good job of getting me open, and also finding me in transition,” Brown said. “It was just more of a mental thing I just had to get out of my head, and take my time and just shoot how I shoot.”
“I think he’s just shooting the ball at a higher percentage,” McMahon added. “We’ve talked about it all season long; he’s one of the best shooters ever to put on a Murray State jersey. Never once tried to limit his 3-point shooting opportunities. We want him to get as many high-quality looks as we can. He’s an elite shooter who does so many other things for our team. But he is a lot more fun to coach when he’s…20-for-34 from three (in the last four games).”
MURRAY STATE 89, SIU EDWARDSVILLE 62
MURRAY
Player PTS FG 3FG FT REB A PF TO MIN
00* ROBINSON 4 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 2 0 2 15
2* CARTER 11 3-8 2-5 3-4 3 3 1 0 27
4* BOSTICK 0 0-1 0-0 0-0 2 1 5 2 13
10* BROWN 29 9-12 7-9 4-4 1 1 0 1 28
23* WILLIAMS 8 3-5 0-0 2-2 2 2 3 0 21
1 SMITH 5 2-4 1-3 0-1 1 2 4 1 14
13 GILMORE 12 4-4 0-0 4-4 7 0 1 3 21
14 HILL 14 6-8 2-4 0-0 2 4 1 3 22
22 WHITLEY 2 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 1 0 0 9
24 KIRBY 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 7
25 THOMAS 3 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 2
32 MCMULLEN 0 0-0 0-0 0-1 3 0 1T 0 13
33 SIVILLS 1 0-2 0-2 1-2 0 1 3 0 10
TOTALS 89 31-53 13-26 14-18 30 17 20 13
GAME PCT 58.5 50.0 77.8
SIUE
Player PTS FG 3FG FT REB A PF TO MIN
1* ADEWUNMI 9 2-11 2-5 3-4 5 0 2 2 32
2* POLK 8 2-6 2-5 2-2 1 0 2 1 22
11* CARTER 10 3-7 2-5 2-3 4 2 0 2 24
42* WRIGHT 10 4-8 0-3 2-5 5 1 2 5 33
55* WRIGHT 7 1-4 0-0 5-6 2 1 3 2 20
21 BUTLER 2 1-2 0-1 0-0 2 1 1 2 14
22 MATAS 6 3-5 0-1 0-0 1 0 3 2 21
23 EZE 0 0-2 0-0 0-0 3 0 1 1 7
52 JAMES 10 3-4 0-1 4-4 0 2 1 0 27
TOTALS 62 19-49 6-21 18-24 26 7 15 17
GAME PCT 38.8 28.6 75.0
for those who inquired. 