Murray State 79, Old Dominion 72
MURRAY, Ky. -- Old Dominion stood toe-to-toe with one of college basketball's best mid-majors Saturday night at CFSB Center, but was ultimately done in by one of the nation's best players.
Isaiah Canaan's tie-breaking 3-point shot with 2:49 left gave Murray State the lead for good and he tacked on a key free throw with 32 seconds left as the Racers held off the Monarchs 79-72 in a well-played non-conference game.
ODU (1-4) shot 44.6 percent from the floor and outrebounded Murray State (4-1) 38-28, but simply couldn't stop Canaan. Despite being double-teamed in an attempt to make him give up the ball, Canaan still scored a game-high 30 points on 18 shot attempts, sinking 6-of-11 3s.
Donte Hill scored 16 points to pace the Monarchs and gave them their last lead with a layup at the 6:19 mark. But ODU managed just five points over the game's remainder, bothered by 1-of-8 shooting and five turnovers in the final 5:56.
DeShawn Painter added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Monarchs, which will have a week off before playing Dec. 1 at William & Mary in a 7 p.m. start.
