Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
California - Davis
Racers plow through Aggies 66-43 in Shamrock Office Solutions Classic
12/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Murray State men's basketball team scored the first nine points in its game against UC-Davis in the first round of the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic in Moraga, Calif., and used a 10-0 run later in the half and two second-half 9-0 runs to flag the Aggies 66-43.
The Racers (5-3) will take on tournament host St. Mary's (10-4) tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9:35 p.m. CT. UC-Davis (5-5) will meet Radford (5-5) in the tournament's consolation game at 7 p.m. CT.
Against UC-Davis, Murray State raced out to as much as a 24-8 lead with 2:28 left in the first half, boasting a 27-16 lead at the half. The Aggies' Fowzi Abdelsamad scored 15 of UCD's 16 first-half points, and didn't score at all in the second half.
MSU took as much as a 34-point lead, taking a 62-28 advantage with 6:50 left in regulation.
The Racers held the Aggies to 35.1-percent shooting, allowing only 13 baskets in 37 attempts for the game.
The Racers were on fire from three-point range, hitting nine of 17 shots from behind the arc (52.9 percent).
Neither team had many second-chance points, as MSU had only six offensive rebounds and UCD claimed only four. The Racers committed only seven turnovers while forcing 19.
Murray State was led by Darnell Hopkins' game-high 16 points and four assists. Reggie Jackson pulled down a co-game-high six rebounds, while Keith Jenifer also had a game-high four assists.
UC-Davis was paced by Abdelsamad's 15 points. Justin Stearns added 11 points, while Phil Rasmussen grabbed a co-team-high six rebounds.
The tournament's championship game can be heard locally on WFGE (103.7 FM, Murray) or through the Teamline link at www.GoRacers.com.
