Perry scores 26, but the rivals fall to the Salukis

Box Score The Murray State Racers’ 20-game home winning streak ended with a 63-57 loss to the Southern Illinois Salukis on Thursday at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.

Rob Perry led the Racers with 26 points in his fifth game of 20 or more this season. Kenny White, Jr.added 13 points, all in the second half. Jamari Smith led MSU with nine rebounds and DJ Burns caught eight.

The Racers (7-6) and Salukis (10-4) are now both 2-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Trailing by 10 points with 5:25 left, the Racers went on a 7-0 run that cut SIU’s lead to 54-51 with 3:23 left on Perry’s third 3-pointer of the game. The Racers got no closer.

In the first half, both teams were cold at the start, scoring just 23 points in the first 12 minutes.

Perry hit MSU’s first 3-pointer of the game at 4:46 to give the Racers their first lead at 16-15. MSU went again with a score of 23-22 Jacob Wood passed to Burns for a layup at 1:43. SIU made the final two baskets to grab a 26-23 advantage at halftime.

The Racers return to action on Sunday, New Year’s Day at the Ford Center against the Evansville Purple Aces. Tip-off time in Evansville is 1 p.m. Central Time. The Racers are back home (Jan. 4) to host the Bradley Braves.

Game notes

• The Racers’ 20-game winning streak at the CFSB Center ends with their first loss since (02-18-21) to Eastern Illinois.
• MSU’s streak is the seventh longest in program history.
• MSU’s longest hitting streak of 47 (1996-00) remains MSU’s gold standard.
• This is SIU’s first win at MSU since 2015 and snapped a three-game skid for the Racers.
• It was coach Steve Prohm’s first career loss at SIU, he is now 2-1.
• At halftime today, SIU led 26-23. The last time MSU held both teams under 30 points in the first half was at Morehead State (2-12-22), when MSU trailed 28-24.
• Today Racers and Salukis combined for 49 first half points. The last time MSU had less than 50 total points in the first half was at Missouri State (12/03/19), when the Bears scored 47 points as the Bears outscored the Racers 25-22.
• by Quincy Anderson A career 1,000 point scorer saw him close tonight. Anderson has played in 86 career games with Murray State and Minnesota State and has 983 points.
• When he reaches 1000, he joins his teammates Jamari Smith, Brian Moore, Jr.and Rob Perry As 1000 point players.
• MSU’s game at Evansville Sunday marks the first time in 19 years that the Racers have played on New Year’s Day.
• The last time MSU competed was on Jan. 1 under coach Tevester Anderson in 2022 at home against Middle Tennessee with MSU winning 76-64.
• The game Sunday at the Ford Center will be the sixth time MSU has played on New Year’s Day since coach Cal Luther’s first at home against Mississippi State in 1956.
• MSU is 2-3 all-time on New Year’s Day.
• The game at the Ford Center will be the Racers’ first there since winning the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title in March 2022 over Morehead State, 71-67.
• This will be the Racers’ first game at the Ford Center against the Purple Aces since 2019.