Tigers' comback bid falls short to Murray State, 76-72

                       David Minkin

 

Before the tip of the game, things were happening that let you know that the outcome may have been what it was.

In a game where the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team, (5-3) were an 11-point favorite over an undefeated Murray State team, the Tigers came up short in a tough contested battle 76-72.

But the turning point really came when PA announcer Chuck Roberts introduced head coach Josh Pastner as John Calipari - so this was probably deemed to happen for the snake-bitten Tigers who may have been looking forward to their top-25 matchup with hated rival Louisville.

"We came out flat tonight," sophomore guard Will Barton said. "It's my job as a leader to have the guys ready and we didn't come to play in the beginning - I take the blame for this loss because we weren't ready."

Though Barton led all scorers with 27 points to go along with his two assists and four rebounds, it was his teammates that couldn't give him much help to offset the play of Murray State's three point barrage in the first half. The Racers began the game on a 11-2 run sparked by their brilliant outside shooting. They finished the game shooting 45 percent from long range and outshooting the Tigers from the field, going 23-of-53 (45.0 percent) in the process.

"Murray State is a really good team," sophomore guard Joe Jackson said. "We started slow, down like 14-2, and you fight to get back in the game. And in the end they made free throws and that's it."

The Tigers did put on a furious rally in the end, but to no avail. Down by 11 with only a couple of minutes left to play, Pastner employed his team to pressure the Racers. In that time span, the Tigers shaved 10 points off the lead with careless turnovers and the inability to get the ball over halfcourt. Thus setting the stage for an epic comeback. But clutch free throws down the stretch by the Racers combined with Chris Crawford's missed three-pointer at the end that would have sent the game into overtime gave Murray State a win over a ranked opponent.

"They (Murray State) deserved to win tonight, you've got to give them credit," Pastner said. "We talked about three keys going into the game. Take the three out of the game, keep them off the free throw line and we can't let the role players beat us. This loss is sickening, but we have to bounce back and we have another tough game on Saturday."