Men’s basketball (6-2) fell to Murray State University (5-3) 96-95 on Tuesday night in a thrilling back-and-forth offensive showcase in their final game at the Cayman Islands Classic.
The high-scoring affair came down to the final possession, as Racer senior guard Javon Jackson sank a go-ahead layup with two seconds remaining to put Murray State ahead and send the Revolutionaries home with a 1–2 record at the event. Both teams shot over 50% from the field, and ten players scored in double figures.
Redshirt senior forward Rafael Castro led the Revs in scoring for the second-straight night, finishing with a season-high 26 points and eleven rebounds, including an impressive 12-for-14 night at the free throw line. Redshirt junior forward Garrett Johnson had a bounce-back performance from last night’s 4 point showing, scoring 17 points and sinking six field goals on ten attempts.
Redshirt sophomore guard Christian Jones added 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while junior guard Jean Aranguren and junior guard Trey Autry each finished with 11 points.
The Revs won the turnover battle, forcing ten turnovers and scoring 15 points off of them while only committing seven on the night, the fewest so far in the Revs’ early non-conference matchups. But the Racers out-rebounded the Revs 40-30, grabbing 16 offensive rebounds that resulted in 17 second chance points for Murray State.
The Racers trotted out to an early 11-5 lead in the first minutes of action, but a taunting technical foul by Jackson after a bucket shifted the momentum back towards the Revs, which they eventually capitalized on with an 11-4 run in 5:05 capped off by a Castro dunk to put the Revs up by one.
Both teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half before Murray State senior forward Mason Miller drained a three-pointer with 12 seconds left in the half to put the Racers in front 45-43 at the break.
The Revs kicked off the second half with 8 unanswered points from Johnson before a three-pointer from Jones capped off a 16-4 run in just 2:39 to lead 56-49, their largest of the game. The Racers responded with a run of their own, outscoring the Revs 18-10 over the following five minutes, reclaiming a 67-66 lead with 12 minutes left.
Baskets were again traded for the next few minutes before the Racers pulled ahead 86-79 with 7:06 remaining thanks to a barrage of 3-pointers during a 13-6 run. The Revs quickly responded, trailing 90-89 with 2:49 remaining after a free throw from Aranguren.
Senior forward Frederick King sank one-of-two free throws for the Racers next possession before making a layup to extend the lead to 93-89 with 1:37 left. Castro would get fouled the next time down for the Revs, making one-of-two free throws to make it a one possession game.
The Revs rebounded a missed 3-pointer from the Racers, which led to a clutch game-tying 3-pointer by Autry in the left corner to knot the score at 93 with 47 seconds remaining. King once again was fouled in the ensuing possession, and again sank one-of-two free throws to give the Racers a 94-93 lead with 18 seconds left.
Following a timeout from the Racers, a feed to Castro down low allowed Autry to break open in the paint and nail a tough left-handed layup to give the Revs a 95-94 lead with 6 seconds on the clock.
Coming out of a Racer timeout, Jackson took the ball up nearly two-thirds of the court before being picked up by Castro just beyond the three-point line. Jackson took advantage of the mismatch and drove to the basket, securing an and-one after a shooting foul from Johnson. Jackson intentionally missed the free throw, which was rebounded by the Racers as time expired.
The Revs will leave the Cayman Islands with their first two losses of the season after starting the year undefeated. The loss to the Racers, who are ranked at 137 on Kenpom following the game, is likely a Quadrant 3 loss. The disappointing tournament showing dropped the Revs to 64 after a season high of 53 entering the week.
The Revs will travel up to West Point, NY to face off against Army next on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 11 a.m. in their first away game.
