NCAA News Wire
Murray State 85, Towson 73
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Murray State pulled away in the second half to advance to the College Insider.com Tournament semifinals, beating Towson 85-73 Thursday in a quarterfinal game at Murray, Ky.
The Racers (21-11) will play host to Pacific (18-15) next Tuesday, with the winner moving on to the April 3 title game against Yale or VMI.
Towson (25-11) led 39-36 at the half, with guard Mike Burwell and forward Jerrelle Benimon combining for 29 points. However, the seniors managed a total of just nine after intermission as the Tigers couldn’t maintain their momentum in their third consecutive CIT road game.
The game was tied at 57 after a jumper by Tigers guard Rafriel Guthrie with 9:46 to play, but the Racers went on a 24-6 run to take control. The Tigers shot 2-for-7 from the field over that stretch and turned the ball over three times while allowing Murray State to score on 12 out of 13 possessions.
Four of Murray State’s five starters finished in double figures, led by guard Cameron Payne, who scored 24 points. The Racers torched the Tigers defense from the perimeter, making 10 of 23 3-point attempts.
Burwell’s 20 points led the Tigers, and Benimon added 18.
Coach Pat Skerry took out seniors Benimon, Burwell, Guthrie and forward Marcus Damas for the final time in their college careers with 1:41 to play. Benimon next will take the court on April 4 as part of the 2014 Reese’s College All-Star Game in Dallas, the site of this year’s Final Four.
