Murray State gets boost with Bracket Buster win

MURRAY, Ky. – Isaiah Canaan scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half and senior Donte Poole added 11 as No. 16 Murray State beat No. 21 Saint Mary’s 65-51 on Saturday night for its most convincing win to date over a nationally recognized opponent.

The Racers (26-1) have already clinched the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title, but were still short of victories over quality opponents since beating Memphis in early December before hosting this Bracket Buster matchup with the Gaels.

Murray State jumped out to a 10-2 lead and never trailed, building a double-digit advantage early in the second half and cruising from there in front of a sold-out CFSB Center crowd.

Matthew Dellavedova scored 17 points for Saint Mary’s (23-5), which has lost three of four. Now the Gaels will face a 2,300-mile trek home and questions about their NCAA tournament résumé.

Saint Mary’s was without defensive stopper Stephen Holt, who hurt his right knee in Wednesday night’s 75-60 loss to Loyola Marymount.

Dellavedova rolled his right ankle in the same game, but played without a brace and appeared at times to be the only player willing to try to create for the Gaels after Rob Jones got into foul trouble early.