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No. 22 Murray State opens conference play with win

Dec 22, 2011 - 8:31 AM Murray, KY (Sports Network) - Donte Poole scored 15 points and No. 22 Murray State opened its Ohio Valley Conference schedule with a thorough 78-54 beating of Tennessee-Martin.

Ivan Aska added 12 points and Isaiah Canaan filled the stat sheet with 10 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Racers (13-0, 1-0 OVC), who are off to the second best start in school history.

"We knew it was the OVC opener. It was gonna be a good test for us," said Poole.

Myles Taylor had a game-high 22 points, while Mike Liabo netted 15 but needed 20 shots to do so for the Skyhawks (3-11, 0-1), losers in six of their last seven.

Murray State, the two-time reigning regular season OVC champs, showed its dominance early, scoring 14 of the first 17 points -- eight coming from Aska.

The Racers went on a 7-0 run a little later and wound up shooting 65 percent from the field in the first half, rolling into the break with a healthy 36-16 cushion.

A 13-2 run in the early stages of the second stanza, capped by back-to-back three-pointer by Poole, ran the margin to 49-22, and the Skyhawks had no chance at a comeback.

"This is the first step, getting ready to get a conference championship," said Aska.

Game Notes

Murray State started the 1935-36 season 16-0...Murray State holds a 22-0 mark at home against Tennessee-Martin...Canaan, a junior, is 10 points away from 1,000 for his career...UT-Martin shot just 34 percent from the field, while Murray State made 68 percent of its shots.