No. 9 Murray State jumped out to an early 8-0 lead against Eastern’s men’s basketball team, and they never looked back on their way to their 21st consecutive victory.

The Racers were led by guards Donte Poole and Isaiah Canaan. Canaan scored the first five points of the game, helping Murray get off to a fast start. Both Canaan and Poole finished the game with 18 points.

Continuing their fast start to the game, the Racers grabbed a 19-7 lead with 12:05 left in the first half; however, Eastern would answer with a 9-0 run, closing the gap to 19-16.

Despite grabbing some momentum with that run the Panthers would not get closer than three points for the rest of the game. At halftime, Murray State would lead 36-25.

The Racers started heating up from beyond the three-point line and pushed the lead to 26 points with a little under 13 minutes to play.

Freshman guard Joey Miller did all he could to bring the Panthers back into the game. He scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half, including nine points in the final four minutes of play.

The newcomer could not bring Eastern back as the Panthers lost 73-58. The loss marks the fifth consecutive loss for the Panthers as they now drop to 2-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference, and 9-11 overall. While Murray State remains a perfect 9-0 in conference play, and 21-0 overall.

Murray State got an exceptional performance from junior forward Ed Daniel. Daniel grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, including four offensive rebounds. He also added five assists, one block and one steal, but he scored just five points. As a team, the Racers shot 51 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Panthers 38-23.

The Panthers were led by Miller and sophomore forward Alfonzo McKinnie. McKinnie scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, while adding six rebounds and one steal.

Now the Panthers will head back home to Lantz Arena for a three-game homestand. First up is Southeast Missouri State. SEMO enters the game at 11-9 overall and 6-2 in the OVC. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday.

Rob Mortell can be reached at 581-7944 or at rdmortell@eiu.edu.