Tigers can’t find the range in 71-64 home loss

Cowley falls to 5-1, while Murray State improves to 5-2.

The Aggies went 10-of-14 from three-point range while building a 38-26 halftime lead. Murray State's Haki Muhammad went 4-of-5 from beyond the arc while scoring 14 of his game-high 25 points in the first half, and Malachi Schilreff's three-pointer in the closing seconds of the half gave the Aggies a 12-point lead.

Trailing 66-52 with 3:05 remaining, Cowley scored the next seven straight points to pull within 66-59 following a basket by CJ Majors with 1:45 left to play. However, that would be as close as the Tigers would get in the seven-point defeat.

"We did not play our best ball. Credit to Murray State for punching us in the mouth," Cowley head coach Donnie Jackson said.

The Aggies committed 27 turnovers to only 12 for the Tigers, but finished 11-of-18 from three-point range, while Cowley made only 5-of-26 attempts from beyond the arc.

"They made shots, we didn't," Jackson said. "We had our chances in transition; with as many times as we turned them over, we just didn't finish. No excuses will be made."

Freshman Roman Miller came off the bench to lead Cowley with 20 points while going 4-of-9 from three-point range. The rest of the team combined to make only 1-of-17 three-point attempts.

Majors added nine points and six steals, while Schilreff joined Muhammed in double figures for Murray State with 13 points and eight rebounds.

Cowley will prepare to open conference play on Saturday when they play at Dodge City (4-2) at 3 p.m.

"We have to move on quickly from this game with conference play starting up on Saturday at Dodge," Jackson said. "They are very good. We will need everyone to regroup and learn from our mistakes."

Box score:

Murray State (71): Ashton Smith 4-9 0-0 10, Aymen Kraria 1-3 4-4 7, Tayesen Combs 1-5 1-2 4, Malachi Schilreff 3-5 5-6 13, Domantas Sarauskas 0-3 3-4 3, Devon MacCollister 0-0 0-0 0, Abeeng Agot 2-5 0-0 4, Haki Muhammad 8-14 4-4 25, Tom Sutton 0-1 0-0 0, Kristupas Grybas 2-2 1-2 5. Totals: 21-47 18-22 71.

Cowley (64): Marcus Smith 3-12 0-2 6, LJ Britt 1-3 2-2 4, Leslie Owens 1-5 3-4 5, Kyden Thompson 0-5 0-0 0, CJ Majors 4-12 1-1 9, Chase Robinson 3-7 1-2 7, Xavier Vickerstaff 2-8 1-2 6, Jaxson Jones 1-3 5-6 7, Roman Miller 7-12 2-4 20, Khai Brown 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 22-69 15-23 64.

Three-pointers: Murray State 11-18 (Muhammad 5-7, Smith 2-4, Schilreff 2-2, Combs 1-2, Kraria 1-1, Sarauskas 0-1, Agot 0-1), Cowley 5-26 (Miller 4-9, Vickerstaff 1-7, Smith 0-4, Thompson 0-2, Brown 0-2, Owens 0-1, Majors 0-1). Rebounds: Murray State 42 (Kraria 9), Cowley 28 (Vickerstaff 6). Assists: Murray State 13 (Kraria 3), Cowley 11 (Thompson 7). Turnovers: Murray State 27, Cowley 12. Total fouls: Murray State 17, Cowley 18. Fouled out: Majors. Technicals: Kraria, Smith.