ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. — Murray State College delivered one of its strongest performances of the season Tuesday night, using a blistering first half from the perimeter and a dominant bench effort to take down previously unbeaten No. 10 Cowley County, 71–64, at William S. Scott Gym. The win moves the Aggies to 5–2 on the season and hands Cowley its first loss.
 
The Aggies were on fire early, hitting 10 of their 14 three-point attempts in the opening half while controlling the tempo and forcing key turnovers. After Cowley scored the game's first basket, Murray State responded with a 17–5 run powered by deep shooting from Malachi Schilreff, Ashton Smith, and Haki Muhammad II. Muhammad and Schilreff combined for five first-half threes, while Aymen Kraria added another to stretch the lead. Murray State built its largest advantage at 35–21 with 2:35 left in the half. Cowley responded with a 5-0 run. The Aggies, though, closed the half with a deep three from Schilreff to enter the locker room ahead 38–26.
 
Cowley made multiple pushes in the second half behind the hot shooting of Roman Miller, who scored 20 points and hit four three-pointers. Every time the Tigers cut the margin, Murray State answered. The hosts from Kansas cut the lead to six with just over eight minutes to play. A putback layup by Muhammad and a steal and transition dunk by Abeeng Agot increased Murray State's lead to double figures with just over six minutes to play.
 
Four straight stops for the Aggies and four converted free throws on the other end gave the visitors from Oklahoma a 14 point lead with just under four and a half minutes left in the game. The Tigers would trim the Murray State lead to seven, but that was the closest it would get as the Aggies defeated No. 10 Cowley College, 71-64, on the road Tuesday evening.
 
Muhammad finished with a game-high 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting and a scorching 5-of-7 from long range. He also hit all four free-throw attempts and added a steal. Schilreff provided a steady presence all night, finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Smith added 10 points, five boards, and two steals while hitting two threes. Kraria nearly posted a double-double with nine rebounds, seven points, three assists, and a block, while Domantas Sarauskas added three points, four rebounds, two assists, and one block.
 
Murray State's depth again played a defining role. Abeeng Agot was electric with eight rebounds, four points, two steals, and three blocks, including two emphatic dunks that stopped Cowley surges in the final seven minutes. Kristupas Grybas added five points and three rebounds in nine physical minutes off the bench.
 
Despite Cowley shooting 40 percent in the second half and cutting the deficit to single digits multiple times, Murray State's poise at the line sealed the result. The Aggies went 14-of-18 at the stripe after halftime and 18-of-22 overall, steadily closing out the Tigers' final run in the last two minutes.
 
The Aggies shot 44.7% from the field and 61.1% from beyond the arc. The Tigers shot just 5-of-26 from three and were held to 31.9 percent from the field.
 
The Aggies return home to take on Grayson College on Thursday, Nov. 20. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
Assistant Sports Information Director: Jeremy Wagner | jwagner@mscok.edu
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