Jan. 7, 2008

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Cape Girardeau, Mo. - Murray State handed Southeast Missouri State its first Ohio Valley Conference loss, winning 79-51 at the Show Me Center.

The Racers, 7-7 overall and 4-3 in the OVC, led 17-2 with 12:17 remaining in the first half and never looked back. The Redhawks, 11-6 overall and 6-1 in the OVC, battled back to trail by only 10, 37-27, at the half. In the opening stanza, Southeast shot just 25.8% from the field.

The Redhawks pulled within 7 points early in the second half, but never got closer as they continued to shoot at only a 25% clip. Marcus Rhodes led the Redhawks with 15 points while Brandon Foust recorded another double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Foust, a co-winner of OVC Player of the Week honors, now had four double-doubles in his last five games.

Murray State was led by Bruce Carter with 22 points while Tony Easley added 11 points and a team-high 8 rebound.

The loss dropped the Redhawks out of the OVC lead for the first time this season. Austin Peay leads the league with a 6-0 record while the Redhawks are 6-1. Southeast plays at Austin Peay on Saturday, 7:30 p.m. The Governors play at Murray State on Thursday.