Murray State Steals 25 Basketballs from Tenn. Wesleyan

Murray State 108
Tennessee Wesleyan 49

Final from Murray, Kentucky

Game recap by Murray State:

The Murray State Racers won their fifth straight game in a 108-49 home victory over Tennessee Wesleyan Saturday at the Regional Special Events Center in Murray, Ky.

The Racers also set a program record with 25 steals (breaking the former mark of 23 against Colorado Springs in 2001) and they topped the 100-point mark for the first time since 2003 against Chicago State.

The Racers got another strong start from Tony Easley who had seven points and five rebounds only minutes into the contest as MSU quickly built a 24-9 lead with 13:05 before half.

MSU opened up a 20-point lead at the 3:22 mark on a basket by Jeffery McClain, and moments later led 42-26 on an A.J. Wilson break-away dunk.

MSU's 52-30 lead at half marked their highest score of the season.

The Racers started the second half on a 12-4 run to push in front 64-34 with 16:37 remaining.

MSU placed six players in double-figure scoring led by Donte Poole's career-high 16, with 15 from Ivan Aska, while Easley tossed in 13. MSU got 12 from Isaiah Canaan, 11 from Isacc Miles and 10 by B.J. Jenkins.

Easley made it a double-double with 10 rebounds.

"Right now we're just executing the game plan, playing hard and trying to do what our coaches ask of us," said senior Tony Easley.

"I agree," said sophomore Donte Poole. "We get very good scouting reports from our coaches and our motivation has been to play good defense for 40 minutes."

"It was good to get back on our home floor and play again," MSU head coach Billy Kennedy said. "You never know about these kinds of games, our guys were ready to go and we played well."

"That's why this game was positioned where it was," Kennedy added. "We wanted to get in a home game before we begin conference play."

The Racers' next contest is their Ohio Valley Conference opener.

Thursday, the Racers host Eastern Kentucky in an early 6 p.m. tip at the RSEC in a game that will be aired by ESPNU.

MSU stays at home Saturday to host Morehead State in a 7:30 p.m. game.