Murray State holds off Illinois State 78-72, wins 5 in a row (Dec 09, 2017)

By AP
Published

NORMAL, Ill. (AP) Terrell Miller Jr. scored 25 points, Shaq Buchanan added 16, and Murray State held off Illinois State 78-72 on Saturday to win its fifth straight.

The Racers scored 11 straight and pulled ahead 47-34 early in the second half for its largest lead of the game. The Redbirds closed to 70-68 on William Tinsley's 3, but Jonathan Stark replied with a 3 and the Racers led 75-70 on Jalen Durpree's layup with 1:26 left. Milik Yarbrough's jumper made it a three-point game, but Ja Morant sealed it with three free throws in the final 20 seconds.

Morant scored 15 points with nine rebounds, Stark had 13, and the Racers (6-1) outshot the Redbirds 50 percent to 41 percent.

Yarbrough scored a career-high 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting and Taylor Bruninga added 11 points for Illinois State (4-6).