MURRAY – Marshall County Head Coach Gus Gillespie felt his team played hard and did a lot of good things against a talented Murray team in their 63-56 loss to the Tigers Tuesday.
“A few plays here and there would have made the difference”, Gillespie said. Proud of the effort, energy and enthusiasm his team is playing with.
Led by junior guard Preston English with 23 points, Murray led 18-12 at the end of the first quarter behind four 3-pointers from English with three and one by Bryant Foster. D.J. Pigg also added to the quarter of threes with two of his four in the game.
Dawson Jolley opened the second quarter for the Marshals with a three, the seventh of 17 threes in the game between the two teams, which cut Murray’s lead to three. A basket by Pigg and one by Dylan Walters plus a free throw gave the Marshals a 20-18 lead, their first since leading 3-2 at the start of the game.
Murray missed four straight free throws which gave the Marshals a chance to go up by five following a 3-pointer by Skyler Smith. A basket by Murray’s James Boone and three from English tied the game at 23-23. Pigg and Ethan Clark exchanged three’s to tie the game again at 26-26 with Murray going on a 8-0 run to finish the first half leading 34-26.
Trailing by 10 in the third quarter following two straight threes by Clark, the Marshals went on to out-score the Tigers 15-5 to tie the game 48-48 on a buzzer beater by Pigg following a basket and two free throws by Conner Riley.
English, who led Murray with 23 points, scored eight of the Tigers 15 fourth quarter points en-route to their seven point win over the Marshals in the final quarter.
Pleased with his team’s effort, Gillespie said he is excited about the growth of his sophomores including Brady Morgan, Aaron Reed, Smith and Walters as well as key time on the floor by players off the bench.
Gillespie said he is looking forward to a few days off from games for practice and rest before the Marshals play Monday against South Fulton, TN and Tuesday against Henry County, TN in the Graves County tournament.
SCORING
Marshall: Pigg 20, Walters 10, Morgan 7, Reed 7, Smith 5, Riley 4, Jolley 3
Murray: English 23, Clark 11, Boone 11, Foster 6, Curtis 6, Britt 2, Hornbuckle 2, Flener 2
Marshall: Field Goals 19/41, 3-pointers 8/18, Free Throws 10/13, Rebounds 23, Fouls 17, Assists 11, Turnovers 12
Murray: Field Goals 22/51, 3-pointers 9/19, Free Throws 10/22, Rebounds 37, Fouls 15, Assists 11, Turnovers 10
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Marshall | 12 | 14 | 22 | 8 | 56 |
| Murray | 18 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 63 |
