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RICHMOND, Ky. – Isacc Miles converted a baseline layup with 25 seconds on the clock to give visiting Murray State the lead for the final time as the Racers edged the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team, 74-72, Thursday night in McBrayer Arena.

Murray State improve to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in the OVC while the Colonels drop to 3-4 and 0-1. This was the sixth straight year that Eastern opened league action against the Racers.

In a back-and-forth game that featured 14 ties, the last equalizer came when senior Josh Daniel converted a backdoor layup to make it 70-70 with 55 seconds remaining. Miles, however, responded with the game-winning bucket on the Racers’ ensuing possession. Junior Joshua Jones’ jumper on the opposite end of the floor fell short before Isaiah Canaan’s two free throws with four ticks left sealed the Murray State victory.

Senior Spencer Perrin led EKU with 17 points and a season-high six rebounds while Daniel finished the night with 15 points. Sophomore Willie Cruz and senior Devin McDonald came off the bench to contribute with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

EKU shot 54.8 percent (23-of-42) from the floor, making it the first time this season the Colonels have lost while shooting 50 percent or better from the field.

Canaan led five MSU players in double figures with 17 points. Ivan Aska chipped in with 16 points and eight boards.

After shooting just 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from the field and scoring 24 points in the first half, the Racers shot 60 percent (15-of-25) from the field and scored 50 points in the second half to secure the come-from-behind win.

EKU exploded out of the gate as Perrin threw down an alley-oop seconds into the game and then converted another alley-oop – this one off an in-bounds play – to give the Colonels a 6-3 lead at the first media timeout.

A put-back by senior Justin Stommes gave the Colonels their largest lead of the game, 24-10, with just under five minutes to play. However, the Racers closed the half on a furious 14-3 run and EKU headed to the locker room at intermission up by just three, 27-24.

A Miles three-pointer from the corner five minutes into the second half tied it, 36-36, for the first time since it was 2-2. An Aska lay-in with 6:57 on the clock then gave the Racers their first lead of the game, 50-49, since it was 3-2.

The Racer lead expanded to four, but the Colonels rallied as Daniel converted a three-point play with 3:15 on the clock to give EKU a 64-63 advantage. Three ties and three more lead changes occurred down the stretch before Miles came up with the winning shot.

EKU continues conference play this Saturday, Dec. 4 when the Colonels host UT Martin at 7 p.m.