CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP)—Danero Thomas scored a game-high 16 points and hit 8-of-8 free throws to lead Murray State past Ohio Valley rival Eastern Illinois 59-53 Monday night.
Tyler Holloway was the only other Racer in double digits with 11 points, giving him a career total of 996. Romain Martin had six points to move his career point total to 995.
Murray State (12-10, 9-4) took a comfortable 27-19 lead into halftime. Both teams struggled on offense in the first half, with Murray State shooting 36 percent and Eastern Illinois 38 percent.
But Eastern Illinois (11-12, 8-5) rallied at the 4:04 mark, going on an 8-0 run launched by a Billy Parrish bucket. The run brought the Panthers within four, at 53-49 with 1:30 left. But Thomas swooped in with a couple baskets, and EIU couldn’t keep up.
Ousman Cisse led EIU with 12 points and nine rebounds. Parrish finished with nine points and six rebounds.
