Saints Outlast Murray State in Foul Fest
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Murray State College (2-13,) | 36 | 34 | 70 |
|
Seward County Community College (9-6,) | 44 | 48 | 92 |
The Seward County Saints improve to 9-6 on the year Friday night in the Greenhouse, outlasting the visiting Murray State Aggies 92-70 in a game that included 59 fouls, 7 technical fouls, 6 players foul out, and 75 free throw attempts.
It was a roller coaster ride for the Saints who jumped out to a 19-9 lead and extended that advantage to 25-9 with 11 minutes to go in the first half after a 6-0 run. That's when Seward got sloppy and let the Aggies back into the contest, seeing their 16 point lead shrink to just 8 before the halftime break at 44-36.
Murray State, fighting immense foul trouble the whole night with an already depleted roster, managed to come all the way back, tying the game at 49 after a slow start to the second half for Seward. The Saints woke up following a Bryan Zollinger timeout and an 8-0 run out of the break put them back in front 57-49, a lead that they would not relinquish again. Seward led by nine at the second half media timeout and as the whistles continued to blow, the Saints took advantage at the free throw line. A pair of technical fouls gave the Saints four freebies that they cashed in on to go up 74-59 and they opened things up late in the game as Murray State was forced to go the end of their depth chart with four players fouling out. Seward went on to win 92-70.
Kevin Smith led the Saints with a game high 23 points and 7 rebounds before exiting the game late with a foot injury. Niem Stevenson battled foul trouble which curbed his big night. The freshman still managed to score 17 points in just 12 minutes of action before fouling out. Secean Johnson hit 9 of 10 from the line and finished with 15 while Malcolm Hill-Bey chipped in 11 for Seward in the win.
The Saints collect their fifth straight win, improving to 9-6 on the season while Murray State drops to 2-13 on the year. The Saints will take the court in their non-conference finale Saturday when they host OnPoint Hoops Academy at 8:00. Murray State will look to rebound against Butler in the 4:00 game after the Grizzlies squeaked out a 79-74 win against OnPoint in the early game Friday.