Box Score By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
Trailing by as many as 16 points midway through the second half, the Murray State men put together an incredible comeback down the stretch to rally for a thrilling 73-68 road victory over Independence (KS) Community College on Friday night.

The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Aggies and improved their record to 4-2 with the final game of an difficult five-game road swing set for 4 p.m. Saturday at Coffeyville.

After struggling to score in back-to-back losses, the Murray State shooting woes appeared to carry over as they hit 36 percent from the field while Independence sizzled the nets for 62 percent first half shooting to snag a 53-37 advantage five minutes into the final stanza.

The Aggies however clamped down defensively and found the much-needed offensive spark from freshman Stanley Harley, who had connected on just two three-pointers through the team's first five contests. The Maryland native found the long-distance range with 8:53 remaining and sank two other treys as well to ignite a spectacular 18-0 scoring burst that put the Aggies in front 65-60 with three minutes to play. In total, the Pirates were held scoreless for nearly six minutes during the decisive stretch.

Sophomore Dayten Holman proved crucial in the rally as well, scoring six points of his own during the stretch as well as feeding Harley with an assist for the eventual go-ahead trey with 5:28 left.

Murray wasn't completely out of the woods though as Independence finally answered, ending the dry spell and knotting the score at 65. T.J. Gardner sank a pair of charity tosses with 2:02 remaining to put the Aggies back in front to stay at 67-65.

Independence narrowed the gap to one point twice in the final 90 seconds, but Harley and A.J. Richard came through with clutch buckets to hold the Pirates at bay.

Harley and Holman each tallied 19 points to spur the attack for the Aggies with Holman sinking eight of 12 shots as well as adding team highs with six rebounds and five assists.

Freddie Cooper contributed eight points, Richard tossed in seven, Kameron Johnson had six, K.J. Boone scored five, Gardner chipped in four with Ridley Shema adding three and Cordrayius Graham posting two.