TENNESSEE STATE 72 MURRAY STATE 68: Robert Covington scored 17 points and Kenny Moore came off the bench to tally 16, including a pair of clutch free throws with 3.2 seconds remaining as Tennessee State rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to stun previously unbeaten and No. 7-ranked Murray State, snapping the Racers' school and Ohio Valley Conference record streak of 23 straight wins to start a season and 18-game homecourt winning streak.
Murray State (23-1, 11-1 OVC) was the last remaining undefeated team in Division I.
Trailing 48-35 early in the second half, Tennessee State (16-10, 9-4 OVC) rallied behind Moore and Patrick Miller, who finished with 12 points, as the Tigers finally took the lead at 56-55 on a rebound basket by Kellen Thornton.
Leading 67-65 with 41.7 seconds left, Covington tipped in a missed shot to increase Tennessee State’s lead to 69-65 and Murray State was not able to pull off the comeback.
Isaiah Canaan scored a game-high 31 points to lead the Racers, but he got little help as Donte Poole was the only other player in double figures for Murray State with 10, all of which came in the first half.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Tennessee State snapped an eight-game losing streak to Murray State and claimed its first regulation win over the Racers since 1996. … The Tigers also clinched their first winning season in 16 years (1995-95). … Canaan notched his fourth 30-point game of the season for Murray State.
Tennessee St. | Murray St. | |
Robert Covington 17 | Scoring | Isaiah Canaan 31 |
Jordan Cyphers 3 | Assists | Zay Jackson 4 |
Robert Covington 8 | Rebounds | Latreze Mushatt 8 |
Kenny Moore 7 | Free Throws Made | Isaiah Canaan 4 |
Kenny Moore 4 | Steals | Donte Poole 4 |
Robert Covington 1 | Blocks | Edward Daniel 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Tennessee St. | 72 | 48.1 | 5-11 | 17-31 | 13 | 32 | 2 | 15 | 16 |
Murray St. | 68 | 46.0 | 10-23 | 12-19 | 13 | 31 | 3 | 8 | 18 |