National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Murray St. 65, St. Mary's 51
When: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 18, 2012
Where: CFSB Center, Murray, Kentucky
Officials: # Ken Ditty, # Horace Shields, # Tom Spitznagel
Attendance: 8825

MURRAY STATE 65, SAINT MARY'S 51:
If there was any doubt who the best mid-major program in the country is this year, No. 14 Murray St. might have put an end to any speculation. The Racers (26-1, 13-1 OVC) got 23 points from All-America candidate Isaiah Canaan, 17 in the second half, and never trailed in pounding No. 16 Saint Mary's (23-5, 12-2 WCC). The Gaels have lost two in a row and three of four.

Murray St. did it on both ends of the floor, shooting 58 percent from the field, including 53 from three-point range (9-17) and tallied 20 points off Saint Mary's turnovers. Defensively, the Racers held the Gaels to a season-low 51 points, 25 below their season average, and outrebounded Saint Mary's 29-21. Murray St. started the game on a 10-2 run and eventually led 34-25 at halftime before blowing the game open by outscoring Saint Mary's 20-10 to start the second half.

Donte Poole added 11 points, all in the first half, for Murray St. while Ed Daniel chipped in eight points and eight rebounds. Matthew Dellavedova led the Gaels with 17 points and six assists.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Canaan and Poole combined to go eight-of-13 from three-point range with Canaan going five-of-eight and Poole three-of-five... Murray St. ended the regular season with six consecutive home sellouts, a school record. The Racers close Ohio Valley Conference play with two road games next week... Saint Mary's Rob Jones, who is fifth in the nation with 16 double-doubles, was held to season lows of four points and three rebounds.
Top Game Performances
 
St. Mary's   Murray St.
Matthew Dellavedova 17 Scoring Isaiah Canaan 23
Matthew Dellavedova 6 Assists Isaiah Canaan 4
Beau Levesque 6 Rebounds Edward Daniel 8
Matthew Dellavedova 5 Free Throws Made Edward Daniel 4
Matthew Dellavedova 1 Steals Edward Daniel 2
Brad Waldow 2 Blocks Brandon Garrett 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
St. Mary's 51 37.7 2-14 9-10 9 21 2 6 9
Murray St. 65 58.1 9-17 6-10 11 29 3 6 15