UE takes 78-74 win over Murray State
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Gabriel Pozzato and Tayshawn Comer set their career scoring marks as the University of Evansville men’s basketball team defeated Murray State by a final score of 78-74 on Wednesday night at the Ford Center. The victory halted a 5-game skid against the Racers with the last Purple Aces win coming at the Ford Center on Dec. 21, 2019.
Pozzato was 10-of-14 from the field and connected on four triples on the way to his career game. His 29 points eclipsed his previous high of 28, which came in the season opener at North Texas. Just behind him was Comer. He scored 27 points, one better than his 26-point game at Southern Illinois on New Year’s Day. He was 13-of-14 from the line and finished with six assists. Tanner Cuff picked up a double-double with 12 points and 12 caroms.
“It was an entertaining game. Definitely a little too close for comfort but to get a win like that in front of the home crowd is very exciting,” UE head coach David Ragland said. “Our league has done a great job of bringing in schools that are close to each other and that creates rivalries and exciting atmospheres.”
Tayshawn Comer recorded Evansville’s first five points of the game as the Purple Aces hit their first four shots of the game to take a 10-5 lead. The defense for UE held Murray State to a 2-for-11 start from the field as the offense pushed the lead to ten at the 13:25 mark. Gabriel Pozzato’s second triple of the night capped the run forcing a MSU time out.
It did not take long for the Racers to regroup. They quickly scored five in a row before extending the rally to a 17-0 stretch. Murray State held the Aces scoreless for over 11 minutes as they took over control of the game. Their defense held UE to ten consecutive missed shots and five turnovers during the rally. Pozzato’s third triple of the night ended the run as UE closed in the final minutes to make it a 25-20 MSU lead entering the break.
Scoring the first six points of the second half, Evansville retook the lead in the opening two minutes. Connor Turnbull had a putback during the stretch to help UE regain a 26-25 advantage. Murray State fought back to tie the game at 34-34 before another 3-pointer by Pozzato with 13:46 remaining put UE back on top at 42-36. It took just over six minutes for UE to surpass its entire scoring output from the opening period.
The Racers continued to fight back, cutting the gap to a single point as the game entered the final 12 minutes. UE slowly pushed lead back to five points with seven minutes left, but each time the Aces added to the lead, the Racers came right back to make it a 1-point game.
As the game entered the final two minutes, a Turnbull alley-oop gave Evansville its largest lead of the second half at 67-58. Just when it looked like UE would pull away for the win, Murray State made one final push. The Racers chipped away in the final seconds as a triple cut the gap to 72-69 with 34 ticks on the clock. Two more Comer free throws and a Josh Hughes dunk put the Aces up five inside of the final 10 seconds before another MSU triple got them within two at 76-74.
Comer was fouled with 0.7 remaining and connected on both free throws to put the game on ice and seal the 78-74 triumph. The Racers were led by JaCobi Wood’s 29 points.
UE shot over 50% for the second game in a row as they finished at 57.4%. The Aces finished the second half shooting 70.4% with 19 out of 27 field goal tries finding the bottom of the net. Murray State shot 37.5% on the night. The Aces are back on the road on Sunday for a 2 p.m. game at Belmont.
