Scoring 30 points in a 40-minute college game is normally quite a feat, accomplished merely a handful of times through a season by a select few players amid the college hoops' share-the-ball mentality. 40 in a game is even rarer, but Tennessee Tech's Kevin Murphy set the bar higher on Monday night, scoring 50 points - the most this season for a single player - shattering the school's single-game scoring record while pacing the Golden Eagles over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 98-80.Murphy, a 6'6" senior guard who consistently scores in double figures (20 of 23 games this season) hit 16 of 21 shots from the field, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range and 12-for-14 from the line, broke Tech's previous record of 38 points, held by John Best.
The 14-9 Golden Eagles are having a solid season at 6-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference where everyone is chasing undefeated (21-0) Murray State, which has a two-game lead over 7-2 SE Missouri State, at 9-0.
Averaging 21.3 points per game, Murphy is seventh in the country in scoring.
NOTABLE: #4 Missouri, the only ranked team in action on the night, narrowly escaped with a 67-66 road win at Texas. Michael Dixon led the Tigers with 21 points on 9-for-10 shooting, including the game winning layup with 31 seconds left. The Longhorns had plenty of time to respond, but were confused on offense as Missouri came out of a timeout with a zone defense, denying Texas a solid shot as time wound down.
