Isaiah Canaan scored 24 of his 32 points in the second half as #10/9 Murray State rallied from an 11-point second half deficit to win 81-73 over Southeast Missouri State Saturday at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky. The victory improves their record to 22-0 on the year and 10-0 in OVC play.
The game was Canaans' fourth game this season with six 3-pointers, and the third time this year he has scored at least 30 points in a game. An 82.8 percent free throw shooter, he led the Racers from the line on the night in making 10-of-12 foul shots.
Trailing 46-35 at the 17:22 mark, the Racers put together a lightning quick run that stunned the Redhawks.
Right in the middle of the action was Canaan who hit four threes in a 24-2 run that changed the game in the Racers' favor.
Jewuan Long connected on a pair of free throws, cutting the Redhawks lead back to single digits at 46-37. Following an offensive foul that returned possession to MSU, Canaan corraled an offensive rebound and finished with a layup to knock the deficit to seven points. Donte Poole hit the first of a pair of free throws to bring the Racers to within six, and Canaan pulled the game to three points with a 3-pointer that capped a four shot MSU possession that included three offensive rebounds. Canaan forced a steal and connected on another shot from behind the arc.
Poole returned to the free throw line in both of the Racers next two possessions, sinking three of four attempts to give the Racers their first lead since 14:33 of the first half.
After the smoke had cleared, MSU held a 59-48 lead with 11:05 left. Canaan led the way with 16 of the Racers 24 points over that stretch.
The Racers sealed the game at the free throw line in the final minute, sinking 9-12 attempts to close out the eight point victory. The team shot 77.1 percent as a whole on the evening, making 22-of-28 attempts in the second half.
Murray State grabbed a season-high 43 rebounds, holding a nine rebound advantage on the night. The team's 18 offensive rebounds was one short of their season best. Ivan Aska dominated for MSU on the glass, tying a season-high with 11 boards as he recorded his third double-double of the season with 10 points.
Jewuan Long did the majority of his scoring in the first half, totaling nine of his 13 points in the first 20 minutes of the game. Donte Poole connected on 8-of-10 free throw attempts to score 11 points.
Marcus Brister led Southeast Missouri (12-10, 7-3 OVC) with 17 points and eight rebounds. SEMO was held to 39.3 percent in the second half after making 17-33 of its first half field goals. The Racers held the Redhawks to just one 3-pointer in the final 20 minutes on eight attempts.
Murray State continues OVC action this weekend, traveling to UT Martin. Tip-off in Martin, Tenn., is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Official release from Murray State sports information
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