Greyhounds Use Comeback to Top Murray State

Tied at halftime, the Greyhounds needed a comeback to outlast a tough Murray State squad, making several key plays down the stretch to take an 83-75 win Saturday at the Pioneer Classic in Harrison, Arkansas.

For the third time in the half, the Greyhounds found themselves down by 7 points with 4:22 left in the game, but Kam Rose came up with a tipin and the Greyhounds went to their big man the very next possession where he converted a traditional 3-point play to pull ASU Mid-South within 2. After the teams traded turnovers and defensive rebounds, Shaheed Halk found Zach Byrd cutting to the basket to tie the game with 2:00 left to play.

Murray State retook the lead the next possession on an offensive rebound, but Byrd found Jalen Lynn open at the arc and the freshman buried his third 3-pointer of the game to give the Greyhounds the lead with just under a minute left in the game. Ike Moore then came up with a steal as Murray State raced up the floor, and despite giving up a traditional 3-point play for their final points, the Greyhounds used consecutive free throws by Shaheed Halk (2), Kamron Rose (2) and Jalen Lynn (4) to seal the victory.

The Greyhounds limited the Aggies to just under 40% shooting on the night while hitting 47% from the field and 39% from the arc and won the battle of the boards 48-37. ASU Mid-South also overcame 19 turnovers by shooting over 77% from the charity stripe, hitting 24-of-31 free throws.

Lynn finished with a career-high 27 points to go with 8 rebounds, and Rose scored his fourth double-double in five games, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Garret Finley scored 9 points, Shaheed Halk finished with 7 points and a game-high 6 assists, and Treay Jamison chipped in 7 points in his personal best for the season.

The Greyhounds travel to Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia Monday and play the second game of a doubleheader with the women. Tipoff for the women is scheduled for 5:00pm with the men playing at 7:00pm. Live video and live stats from Howard Coliseum will be available through http://nwccrangers.com.