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Speed Kills! Murray State Racing Past Auburn at Half

Murray State has used team speed to race past Auburn and hold them to just 19 points in the first half in Charleston

Andy Lyons

Murray State has picked up where they it left off last season, despite losing multiple players to graduation. Well, and this.

But that hasn't changed how the Racers play on the basketball court. Led by Isaiah Canaan, Murray State has run out to a 45-19 lead over Auburn in the opening round of the Charleston Classic.

Canaan outscored the Tigers all on his own, going 6-for-9 from the floor and scoring 20 despite a defense focusing on the senior guard. Auburn's backcourt has just had no answer for the All-American.

Murray State never shifted its game plan despite holding a 20-plus point lead for most of the half. But the Racers did open up the offense and freed a number of other players to get theirs, including Stacy Wilson and Dexter Fields, who both hurt Auburn from deep.

The Tigers got six points each from Asauhn Dixon-Tatum and Frankie Sullivan to lead them at the half. That no one scored more than three field goals indicates how tough the Racers defense has been, forcing 15 turnovers and holding Auburn scoreless for almost four and a half minutes late in the half.