Murray St. avoids upset bid in OVC semis
March 6, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Tony Easley scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds andblocked two shots in the final 12 seconds to help Murray State defeat EasternIllinois 55-51 Friday night in the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conferencetournament.
Top-seeded Murray State (29-4), which tied the school record for wins in aseason, will play either Morehead State or Tennessee Tech in Saturday’schampionship.
Isacc Miles, who finished with nine points, scooped up a long offensiverebound and hit his second 3-pointer of the half to give Murray State a 54-49lead with 3:58 left.
Eastern Illinois (19-12), the No. 4 seed, pulled within 54-51 on TylerLaser’s layup with 54.7 seconds left. But Easley blocked consecutive shots byLaser and Ousmane Cisse to seal it.
Shaun Pratl scored nine and James Hollowell had five blocks and eight pointsfor the Panthers, who snapped an eight-game winning streak.