Box Score MURRAY, Ky. – From start to finish, the University of Evansville men's basketball team battled Murray State in a game that featured 12 lead changes with the Racers pulling away late for a 74-58 victory.
Box Score
Marvin Coleman II led the way for the Purple Aces with 19 points. He was 7-of-14 from the field while picking up three steals, three rebounds and two assists. Yacine Toumi added 12 points while Gabe Spinelli recorded 11. Preston Phillips tied for the game-high with eight rebounds. Four Racers recorded double figures with Jamari Smith and Brian Moore Jr. totaling 18 points apiece.
"Our game plan was good and we really did a good job executing in the first half," UE head coach David Ragland said. "I was happy with our response in the second half; in less than two minutes, we cut a 16-point deficit in half. There is still a lot of work to do, but we are making strides."
Murray State took a 6-1 lead to open the game With Marvin Coleman II hitting a triple to get the Aces closer. Trailing 8-4, it was the long ball playing a role once again with Kenny Strawbridge Jr. connecting to make it a 1-point game. Chris Moncrief hit a bucket as the 14:17 mark to give UE its first lead at 9-8.
Moncrief and Gabe Spinelli converted back-to-back shots to give the Aces a 13-10 edge at the halfway point of the period with the Racers countering with six in a row. The teams swapped the lead a total of 10 times in the half including four times in a span of under two minutes. Spinelli banked in a three from the corner to give UE a 22-20 edge at the 3:21 mark before Coleman hit his third shot of the afternoon to make it a 24-22 game less than a minute later.
It was the Racers who would complete the half with the momentum as they posted the final five points to hold a 27-24 halftime lead. Evansville held a 14-10 edge in points in the paint in the period along with a 7-2 advantage in fast break points. The Racers did their damage on the boards, totaling 23 to Evansville's 13.
After MSU hit the first shot of the half, Coleman picked up a 3-point play. With the Racers back up by four, Evansville put together a 5-0 stretch to take its first lead of the second half. Strawbridge drained a 3-pointer with the shot clock running down while Toumi finished at the basket to give UE a 34-33 lead with 16:57 remaining.
Once again, Murray State had the answer, reeling off seven on a row over the next three minutes. UE missed six consecutive shots while turning it over once. Spinelli ended the stretch with a layup but the Racers continued to roll. At the 11:42 mark, the extended the lead to double figures at 48-38 with the lead jumping to 15 points three minutes later.
With 7:14 remaining, the Racers matched their largest lead of 16 points (62-46) but UE continued to fight back. Toumi hit a jumper while Gage Bobe turned a turnover into a pair of free throws. On the ensuing possession, a miss by MSU gave the ball back to UE where Coleman drew a foul and hit both ends of the 1-and-1. Evansville took advantage of another Racer turnover as Coleman capped off an 8-0 stretch to make it a 62-54 game with 5:30 showing on the clock.
Over the final moments, the Racers regained control to finish with a 74-58 win. Shooting 57.1% in the second half, Murray State completed the game at 44.6% with the Aces shooting 41.1%. MSU out-rebounded the Aces, 41-27. On Wednesday, UE wraps up the home schedule with a 7 p.m. game versus UIC.
