By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
TISHOMINGO – In desperate need of a spark while staring at a 21-point second half deficit, the Murray State Aggies got just what the doctor ordered in the form of Stanley Harley.

The sophomore spark plug came off the bench with instant energy and scored all 18 of his points over the game's final 15 minutes fueling the Aggies to an impressive 79-74 win over Ranger Junior College Thursday night inside Beames Fieldhouse.

That comeback helped snap a three-game skid and evened the Aggies' record at 3-3 going into a road game at 4 p.m. Saturday against Arkansas-Cossatot.

Murray State managed only 24 points in a lethargic first half in which they committed a plethora of turnovers and struggled to shoot from the perimeter during a five minute scoring dry spell that saw Ranger push the advantage to double figures. The Aggies showed some resurgence over the final four minutes of the half however, getting putback buckets from Ignas Juscevicius and Rustin Coffey while narrowing the gap to just 30-24 at the break.

Things looked pretty bleak for the hosts when Ranger exploded out of the second half gates, scorching the nets for 13 straight points on the way to building what appeared to be a commanding 47-26 cushion with 15 minutes left.

That's when Harley stepped to the forefront, hitting a three-pointer and two free throws for his first points of the night, igniting a 9-0 burst that gave the Aggies life.

Still trailing 53-35 with just under 12 minutes to play, Harley canned three free throws to spur an incredible 16-2 flurry that he also capped with a steal and layup at the nine-minute mark. Isaiah Lewis also chipped in seven during the massive rally.

Murray State wasn't done there however, eventually tying the game at 60 on a Lewis technical free throw at the 6:53 mark. It was Harley's hot hand moments later that gave the Aggies the lead for good, canning a three-pointer before adding a steal and layup all within 20 seconds.

Ranger closed to within two points three times down the stretch and each time Murray State had the answer with treys as Tarrance Austin, R.J. Chatman and Harley all drained pivotal shots when the Aggies needed to answer. The Aggies finished with 55 points over the final half, including seven three-pointers.

"We had 10 or 12 uncharacteristic turnovers in the first half that really put us in a hole," head coach Josh Davis said. "We were able to shore that up and finally make some perimeter shots in the second half. I'm really happy for our guys. That's a really talented Ranger squad and I was really happy to get the win. The character of our guys showed. It's good to finally see that show up on the scoreboard."

Harley led four Aggies in double figures as Austin pitched in 16, Lewis had 12 and Juscevicius notched 10. R.J. Chatman just missed double digits with nine, Treyvaughn Williams scored six, Coffey tallied four with Dayvantia Campbell and Ezekiel Williamsonbey adding two apiece.