Louisville Shawnee 67, Murray 54

RICHMOND, Ky. — By the end of the first half, Cole Hurt was dragging, and it wasn't just because of the flu bug that he's been battling.

Much of it was because of Louisville Shawnee's backcourt, the quickest and deepest the Tigers have faced this season, and eventually it took a toll as the Tigers fell 67-54 on Friday afternoon at the All A Classic at Eastern Kentucky University's McBrayer Arena.

"They just wore us down," Hurt said. "I was tired late in the second quarter, and even (point guard) Blake Darnall had to come out. We had faced Paducah Tilghman earlier this year, and they're pretty quick, but (Shawnee) is a little quicker."

The turnovers started to mount, and Shawnee (10-10) seized control of the game with a 17-0 run in the first six minutes of the second half. Murray was 0-for-7 from the field and committed four turnovers in that time frame, not denting the scoreboard until a Chastin Sheppard putback cut the Golden Eagles' lead to 48-31 with 2:06 left in the third period.

"Not to make excuses, but we only had one good day to really work on their press," Murray coach Ron Greene said. "We needed about three more."

Shawnee's quick hands also caused some problems for Murray's inside tandem of Sheppard and forward Aaron Jones. The senior duo combined for 25 points and 18 rebounds, but they also had three turnovers apiece.

"We just didn't handle it very well," Jones said.

Hurt tossed in 15 of his game-high 21 points in the first half to keep the Tigers (13-5) in the hunt, but he also had the unenviable task of defending Shawnee star Cory Jackson, who is rated as one of the top players in Louisville.

Jackson finished with 19 points and handed out five assists, going 5-for-6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to seal the win. All of those came after Hurt put up 3-point plays on drives to the basket on back-to-back possessions to cut the Shawnee lead to 53-45 at the 4:41 mark.

Shawnee also got 16 points from guard Kendal Holt, including back-to-back 3-pointers that were backbreakers in its decisive run.

Murray's halfcourt defense, something Greene expressed concern about even while the Tigers were winning the All A Classic regional tournament last week, was again and issue. Shawnee's guards, particularly Cory Jackson and reserves Donald Jackson and Kyle McClain, were able to get to the basket much too easy for Greene's liking.

"We're not stopping penetration, we're not cutting off the baseline and we're not blocking out on the boards as much as we should," Greene said. "I've said before that we've regressed with our defense since the early part of the season, and it's something we need to work on."

Louisville Shawnee (10-10) ... 20 31 51 67
Murray (13-5) ... 17 29 35 54

LOUISVILLE SHAWNEE — C. Jackson 19, Mason 4, Harraway 6, Holt 16, Thompson 7, D. Jackson 9, McClain 6, Newsome, Ponder, Green.

Field goals 25/47. 3-pointers 4/12 (Holt 3, Thompson). Free throws 13/20. Rebounds 24. Fouls 16.

MURRAY — Hurt 21, Jones 12, Sheppard 13, Langford, Darnall 8, Benton, Foster, Fields.

Field goals 23/51. 3-pointers 1/13 (Hurt). Free throws 7/13. Rebounds 33. Fouls 16.