Men's Basketball 2/3/2025 9:51:00 PM

Murray men fall to Pioneers in defensive battle

Box Score By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
Points were definitely at a premium Monday night as both Murray State and Western State were limited to offensive season lows, but in the end the visiting Pioneers scored just enough to notch a pivotal 48-45 conference victory inside Beames Fieldhouse.

The Aggies trailed throughout the contest, eventually pulling even at 41 on Brandon Ivery's spectacular four-point play with 4:39 remaining. Murray State however managed just one field goal the rest of the way, misfiring on a trio of potential three-point attempts in the final 20 seconds following an Elijah Tshibangu steal.

With the ice-cold shooting performance Murray State slipped to 17-4 overall and 6-2 in league play while seeing its five-game winning streak end. Western also moved to 17-4 on the season and 5-3 to close out the first half of conference action.

Murray State will be on the road at Seminole State on Thursday to begin the second half of league action.

Neither team could get much at all to fall in a defensive first half which proved to be an omen throughout the night. Western held a 20-17 edge at intermission and built as much as a seven-point advantage twice in the final half before the Aggies responded to narrow the gap.

Ivery notched 14 points to pace the Murray State scoring with Bol Agu adding 10, all of which came after the break. RJ Chatman posted seven, Tshibangu had six, Rustin Coffey scored five and Abeeng Agot rounded out the scoring with three points.

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Players Mentioned

#0 RJ Chatman: PG; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#10 Rustin Coffey: G/F; 6' 6"; Sophomore

#3 Elijah Tshibangu: G; 6' 4"; Freshman

#4 Abeeng Agot: G/F; 6' 7"; Freshman

#13 Brandon Ivery: G; 6' 4"; Freshman

#24 Bol Agu: G/F; 6' 8"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#0 RJ Chatman
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: PG

#10 Rustin Coffey
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: G/F

#3 Elijah Tshibangu
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: G

#4 Abeeng Agot
: 6' 7"; Freshman
: G/F

#13 Brandon Ivery
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: G

#24 Bol Agu
: 6' 8"; Sophomore
: G/F